Four major Nigerian banks have published details of 321,181 dormant accounts following a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria requiring financial institutions to disclose inactive accounts before potential transfer to the Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund.
The banks involved include Access Bank, Union Bank of Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Fidelity Bank.
Data from the disclosures show that Access Bank accounted for the highest number with 243,934 dormant accounts, followed by Fidelity Bank with about 61,900, Stanbic IBTC with 26,135, and Union Bank with 212 accounts, bringing the total to over 321,000 inactive accounts.
The accounts cut across individuals, corporations, cooperatives, religious organizations, and small businesses, many of which have remained inactive for more than 10 years.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2024 guidelines require banks to publish dormant account details six months before any unclaimed funds are transferred to the apex bank’s custody, in a bid to improve transparency and reduce financial fraud risks.
However, the directive has sparked debate among financial analysts and economists, with concerns raised over privacy, customer communication gaps, and the difficulty of reactivating dormant accounts.
Some experts argue that rising business failures, especially among small and medium enterprises, have significantly contributed to the high number of inactive corporate accounts.
Others believe the policy could expose sensitive customer information and potentially lead to legal disputes, especially in cases involving deceased account holders.
Banks such as United Bank for Africa, First Bank of Nigeria, Zenith Bank, and Ecobank adopted different approaches, with some offering search portals or guidelines instead of publishing full dormant account lists.
The development highlights broader concerns about financial inclusion, account maintenance practices, and the economic pressures contributing to business inactivity across Nigeria.
