Over Rs 67,000 Crore In Dormant Bank Accounts Shifted To RBI’s DEA Fund | Business News
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Indian banks transferred over Rs 67,000 crore in unclaimed deposits to the RBI’s DEA Fund by June 30, 2025.
The amounts credited to the DEA Fund are the credit balances in any deposit account maintained with banks (Commercial Banks, Co-operative Banks), which have not been operated upon for 10 years or more by the depositor, or any amount remaining unclaimed for 10 years or more.
Indian banks have transferred over Rs 67,000 crore in unclaimed deposits to the Reserve Bank of India’s Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund as of June 30, 2025, according to CNBC-18 report citing government data presented in Parliament on July 28.
Public sector banks (PSBs) contributed the bulk—Rs 58,330.26 crore—with State Bank of India leading at Rs 19,329.92 crore, followed by Punjab National Bank (Rs 6,910.67 crore) and Canara Bank (Rs 6,278.14 crore).
The CNBC-18 report added that private sector banks moved Rs 8,673.72 crore to the DEA fund. ICICI Bank topped this segment with Rs 2,063.45 crore, followed by HDFC Bank (Rs 1,609.56 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 1,360.16 crore).
As per RBI rules, savings and current accounts inactive for 10 years, and term deposits unclaimed for 10 years after maturity, are classified as unclaimed and transferred to the DEA fund. NBFCs are not required to transfer such funds. The government also clarified that state-wise data on unclaimed deposits is not maintained.
RBI has established the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (Fund). The Scheme came into effect from May 24, 2014.
The amounts credited to the DEA Fund are the credit balances in any deposit account maintained with banks (Commercial Banks, Co-operative Banks), which have not been operated upon for 10 years or more by the depositor, or any amount remaining unclaimed for 10 years or more, and includes the following:
- savings bank deposit accounts;
- fixed or term deposit accounts;
- cumulative/recurring deposit accounts;
- current deposit accounts;
- other deposit accounts in any form or with any name;
- cash credit accounts;
- loan accounts after due appropriation by the banks;
- margin money against issue of Letter of Credit/Guarantee etc., or any security deposit;
- outstanding telegraphic transfers, mail transfers, demand drafts, pay orders, bankers cheques, sundry deposit accounts, vostro accounts, inter-bank clearing adjustments, unadjusted National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) credit balances and other such transitory accounts, unreconciled credit balances on account of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions, etc.;
- undrawn balance amounts remaining in any prepaid card issued by banks but not amounts outstanding against travellers cheques or other similar instruments, which have no maturity period;
- rupee proceeds of foreign currency deposits held by banks after conversion of foreign currency to rupees in accordance with extant foreign exchange regulations; and
- such other amounts as may be specified by the Reserve Bank from time to time.
Customer/depositor can claim a refund of their unclaimed amounts from their banks. Based on the request of claim made by customer/depositor or legal heirs (in case of deceased depositors), the banks shall repay the customer/depositor along with interest (applicable only in case of Interest-Bearing deposit accounts) and then lodge a claim for a refund from the DEA Fund maintained by the RBI for an equivalent amount paid to the customer/depositor.
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A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al… Read More
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