Banks return over Rs 10,000 crore in unclaimed deposits to customers: Government

NEW DELHI: India’s banks have settled more than Rs 10,000 crore worth of unclaimed deposits in the last three years, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.  In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed that both Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Private Sector Banks have handed back thousands of inactive or forgotten accounts to rightful claimants between April 2022 and November 2025. Under Reserve Bank of India’s Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund Scheme, banks are required to transfer balances from savings, current, and term deposit accounts that remain unclaimed for 10 years to a central fund managed by the RBI. As of June 30, 2025, Public Sector Banks had transferred over Rs 58,000 crore to this fund, with the State Bank of India alone accounting for Rs 19,330 crore. Private Sector Banks have added another Rs 9,000 crore to the DEA Fund, led by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank. To ensure that these amounts reach the rightful owners, the RBI has issued clear directions to banks to trace account holders, publish lists of unclaimed accounts on their websites, maintain proper grievance redressal systems, and actively search for heirs of deceased customers. (IANS)

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