The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a directive requiring all banks and financial institutions to publicly disclose information regarding dormant accounts, unclaimed balances, and other financial assets.
Banks must disclose the names of their customers, the kind of account they have, and the branch in which each dormant account is located.
This information must be made available on the banks’ official websites. For financial institutions without their own websites, the information should be posted on the website of the relevant industry association.
Every year, banks are required to publish these details in at least two national daily newspapers in addition to their online presence. This information must be publicly displayed on the premises of state and unit microfinance banks.
The CBN highlighted Section 25(b) of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, which allows for reasonable departures from general data protection principles, in response to worries about possible violations of the law.
Additionally, the CBN is authorised to publish guidelines regarding the management of unclaimed funds in banks and other financial institutions by Section 72(ii) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act.
This decision expands on earlier CBN recommendations from July 2024, which mandated that banks move cash from dormant accounts and unclaimed balances into certain apex bank-held accounts.
