Banks agree to surrender unclaimed money

The Unclaimed Financial A*sets Authority has partnered with banks through the Kenya Bankers A*sociation (KBA) in a month-long campaign to enhance public aw*reness. The campaign wi*l run throughout October as the financial sector prepares for the first year of formal reporting of unclaimed a***sts to the regulator launched a fortnight ago.

The Unclaimed Financial A*sets (UFA) Aw*reness month targets financial inst*tutions, microfinance inst*tutions, and stockbrokers among other organisations holding unclaimed cash, cheques, interests and wages. 

KBA Chief Executive Officer Habil Olaka said their partnership targets re-uniting custom**s with their unclaimed a*sets, transfer of the unclaimed a*sets to the authority and to formalise the industry for compliance.  Kenya Bankers A*sociation has injected Ksh3 mi*lion tow*rds the campaign.

ALSO SEE: WHOSE MONEY IS THIS? KSH3.3BN IN UNCLAIMED A*SETS RECOVERED

“Currently banks are at the forefront of implementing the new requirements and we expect the industry wi*l improve in implementation now that there are formal reporting structures,” Mr Olaka added.

Unclaimed Financial A*sets Authority says it has so far received Ksh. 3.4 bi*lion worth of unclaimed a*sets value. According to UFAA Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Kellen Kariuki, holders of unclaimed a*sets bear the responsibility of reunifying the a*sets with their rightful claimants.

A*sets covered by the Unclaimed Financial A*sets Act, of 2011 include bank cash balances, cheques, insurance policies, utility deposits, court aw*rds and credit or safe deposits boxes abandoned for between two to five years. The authority says it is facing the uphi*l task of reuniting the money with the beneficiaries because in the past, most people only left postal addresses.

The Authority unveiled its strategic plan and now waits the gazettement of regulations to pave way for payment of the a*sets. The Kenya Bankers A*sociation remitted 62% of the KSh3.4 bi*lion held in the trust fund account at the Central Bank.

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