The Central Bank of Nigeria issued revised guidelines governing the management of dormant accounts and unclaimed balances held at banks and other financial institutions operating in the country, in a circular dated 19 July 2024 that took immediate effect. The new framework supersedes the previous guidelines established in 2015 and introduces enhanced consumer protections, updated dormancy thresholds, and revised asset transfer procedures for qualifying accounts. The CBN confirmed the issuance of the guidelines pursuant to the supervisory authority granted to the regulator under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020.
CONSUMER PROTECTIONS
The updated framework includes consumer protections for account holders or their next of kin whose funds have remained inactive for qualifying periods. The guidelines establish dormancy thresholds, specifying the conditions under which an account is to be reclassified as dormant, and mandate that institutions undertake defined notification steps before any account is reclassified and the associated balances are transferred.
Financial institutions are also required to improve their internal reporting and record-keeping procedures. The CBN said the guidelines aim to curb abuses in the operation of dormant accounts, strengthen its oversight of unclaimed balances and reunite the funds with their beneficial owners, with balances dormant for 10 years or more to be transferred to a CBN-managed Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund.
BANKS MUST UPDATE ASSET TRANSFER PROCEDURES
Under the new requirements, financial institutions are obliged to revise their internal procedures for transferring qualifying dormant account balances to the CBN. Institutions that fail to adhere to the new guidelines will be subject to the CBN's enforcement powers under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020, which provides for a range of supervisory sanctions including financial penalties.