Unclaimed shares in banks caught in legal limbo

State-owned and private banks are regulated by different laws, complicating the task of investor protection. A solution could be incorporating all banks under the Companies Act of 2013

The Banking Regulation Act, 1949, empowers the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to regulate banks, but many of its provisions do not apply to those owned by the government. A similar problem arises with the Companies Act, 2013, which applies to private banks since they are incorporated under it. State-run banks, on the other hand, are constituted under special statutes: the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980, and the State Bank of India Act, 1955. Therefore, state-run banks are not strictly bound by the Companies Act. This