Senate committee highlights forgotten Rs97 billion in dormant bank accounts
Pakistani citizens have a staggering Rs97 billion lying dormant in their bank accounts, it was revealed at a recent Senate Standing Committee on Finance session.
This significant amount of money is spread across 10.4 million temporarily closed accounts in various banks throughout the country.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwala, revealed that these accounts have remained inactive for the past decade. Officials from the State Bank of Pakistan informed the committee about the presence of these funds, noting that many account holders appear to have forgotten the money in their accounts.
Read More: Moody’s upgrades Pakistan’s credit rating to Caa2
During the briefing, it was suggested that the current 10-year period for considering such accounts permanently closed be extended to 15 years.
According to existing regulations, if an account remains inactive for 10 years, and after sending three notices to the account holder without a response, the funds are transferred to the State Bank.
Moreover, despite the decade-long dormancy, millions of account holders still approach banks to reactivate their accounts. This trend highlights the need for a flexible approach to reactivation.
In addition, the committee approved the State Bank’s proposal to reactivate temporarily closed accounts, enabling citizens to regain access to their forgotten funds.
Furthermore, this move is expected to provide relief to many account holders who may not have been aware of the dormant status of their accounts and could potentially help boost economic activity.
