Four Nigerian banks, Access Bank, Union Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and Fidelity Bank , have published details of 321,181 dormant accounts following a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The disclosures stem from the July 2024 Guidelines on Dormant Accounts and Unclaimed Balances, which require banks to publish account details six months before transferring funds to the CBN’s Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund Pool Account.
Access Bank listed 243,934 dormant accounts, split almost evenly between individuals and corporates. Fidelity Bank disclosed 61,900 accounts, with about 79% corporate accounts, while Stanbic IBTC published 26,135 accounts across 1,520 pages. Union Bank’s list was smaller, with 212 accounts, mostly cooperatives, clubs, and associations.
The accounts reflect inactivity among SMEs, oil and gas firms, logistics operators, churches, schools, and trading businesses, with clusters in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and northern commercial centres.
Analysts raised concerns about privacy, customer communication, and cumbersome reactivation procedures. Economist Muda Yusuf said: “It’s more about getting banks to communicate with their customers… We need to simplify the process of resuscitating dormant accounts.”
Professor Akpan Ekpo questioned the rationale for public disclosure, warning it could expose customers unnecessarily. Former LCCI president Gabriel Idahosa added that abandoned balances often result from collapsed businesses, deaths, or bank mergers, and publication could trigger legal disputes.
The CBN defended the directive, saying dormant balances are vulnerable to fraud and abuse. Eligible accounts include savings, current, domiciliary, prepaid wallets, unclaimed salaries, stale drafts, and abandoned financial assets inactive for at least 10 years.
The apex bank also directed lenders to notify customers regularly via emails, texts, and letters, while maintaining audit trails and quarterly reporting obligations to strengthen oversight.
