Yemisi Izuora
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all banks and other financial institutions to publish details of dormant accounts, unclaimed balances, and other financial assets on their respective websites.
The guidelines were outlined in a circular titled “Guidelines on Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances, and Other Financial Assets in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria,” and signed by Michael Akuka on behalf of the Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department of CBN.
According to the CBN, financial institutions must display the names of individuals authorized to operate the accounts, the type of account, and the branch where the account is domiciled on their official websites.
In cases where other financial institutions (OFIs) do not have websites, they are required to publish the information on their association’s website.
“In furtherance thereof, and in response to inquiries from stakeholders regarding the possible breach of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDPA), banks and other financial institutions are required to note the following,” the CBN stated.
- Section 25 (b) of the NDPA permits justifiable deviations from the general principles of the Act. Additionally, Section 72 (ii) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act mandates the Central Bank of Nigeria to issue guidelines on the administration of unclaimed funds in banks and other financial institutions.
- Information to be published on banks’ websites and the association’s website (where applicable) shall include the name of the account holder, the type of account, the name of the bank, and the branch where the account is domiciled only.
The CBN further instructed that information must be published annually in at least two national daily newspapers or on the premises of state and unit microfinance banks, conveying the details as listed below.
- A dormant account is defined as a bank account that has remained inactive for at least one year.
- Earlier in the week, the Nigeria’s banking regulator issued a sweeping directive mandating commercial banks to comply with stricter insider lending limits or risk regulatory sanctions.
- In a letter to banks, the CBN set a 180-day deadline for financial institutions to regularize all insider-related credit facilities that exceed the statutory limits prescribed under the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
The move is part of broader efforts to address governance lapses and curb excessive exposure to politically connected or influential insiders, a long-standing issue in Nigeria’s financial sector.
The CBN has now made it clear that banks must bring all insider-related exposures within regulatory limits within six months.
At the heart of the directive is Section 19 of BOFIA 2020, which caps lending to insiders at a percentage of a bank’s total loan book. In recent years, some banks have received CBN approvals for insider-related facilities without clear timelines for compliance, leaving room for regulatory arbitrage.