FinMin to review PSBs' progress on unclaimed deposits on January 14

"The meeting, to be chaired by the Joint Secretary (banking) in DFS, will assess the status of unclaimed deposits transferred to the DEA Fund and the pace of claims settlement across banks

The finance ministry is set to review the progress made by public sector banks (PSBs) in settling unclaimed assets at a high-level meeting scheduled for January 14, according to a senior government official. 

“The meeting, to be chaired by the Joint Secretary (banking) in the Department of Financial Services (DFS), will assess the status of unclaimed deposits transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund and the pace of claims settlement across banks,” the official said. 

The official further added that the senior executives from State Bank of India (SBI), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and other nationalised banks are expected to participate in the review through video conferencing. 

An email sent to the finance ministry remained unanswered till the time of going to the press. 

The official further noted that the PSBs had transferred unclaimed deposits worth ₹63,939 crore to the DEA Fund as of March 31, 2025. During the one-month claim settlement window between September 25 and October 31, 2025, banks were able to facilitate claims amounting to ₹1,071 crore, government sources said. 

Among individual lenders, SBI accounted for the largest share of claim settlements, with ₹760.7 crore reclaimed during the period. This translates into an achievement rate of 3.76 per cent against its total unclaimed deposits of ₹20,225 crore transferred to the DEA Fund, according to official data. 

The Central Bank of India reported claims of ₹73.6 crore during the window, followed by Indian Bank at ₹43.2 crore and Punjab National Bank (PNB) at ₹48.6 crore. Union Bank of India settled claims worth ₹49.8 crore, while Bank of Baroda facilitated claims of ₹28.5 crore during the period. 

The official further added that the several PSBs recorded achievement rates of less than 1 per cent, reflecting structural and operational challenges in tracing claimants and completing documentation. Bank of Maharashtra and Canara Bank reported particularly low recovery ratios, he noted. 

“At an aggregate level, the overall achievement rate for PSBs stood at around 0.02 per cent of the total unclaimed amount transferred to the DEA Fund, highlighting the scale of the challenge involved in reconnecting depositors with dormant funds. The government is expected to emphasise the use of digital platforms, doorstep assistance and branch-level campaigns to increase awareness among depositors and legal heirs,” the government official said. 

On December 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that nearly ₹2,000 crore had been returned to rightful owners under the Centre’s ‘Your Money, Your Right’ initiative. This is three per cent of unclaimed bank deposits as on June 30, 2025. India’s unclaimed bank deposits have more than doubled to ₹67,004 crore as on June 30, 2025, from ₹27,824 crore at the end of FY21. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had launched the three-month campaign, starting October last year, to facilitate the recovery of unclaimed bank deposits.