The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that Rs97 billion has been held in dormant accounts for over ten years.
The SBP indicates that 14 million temporarily inactive accounts have existed across various banks for a decade. A recommendation has been made to increase the time frame for permanently closing these dormant accounts from 10 to 15 years.
State Bank representatives have observed that many account holders reactivate their accounts even after 10 years. The Senate committee has endorsed the State Bank’s suggestion to allow the reactivation of these accounts.
What defines a dormant bank account?
Under the Bank’s policy, a Current or Savings account is deemed dormant if no customer-initiated transactions occur within a year. For security reasons, the Bank monitors these accounts closely.
Read: State Bank of Pakistan Cuts Key Interest Rate to 19.5%
A dormant account is one that has been devoid of financial activity, except for interest postings, for an extended period. Once the dormancy period concludes, which varies by state, these accounts are classified as unclaimed property belonging to the state.
