Rs 86,917 Crore In Unclaimed Bank Deposits, SBI Accounts For Largest Share

Banks had transferred a total of Rs 86,917.08 crore in unclaimed deposits to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEA Fund) as on June 30, 2026, according to information placed before Rajya Sabha on August 11, 2026.

State Bank of India (SBI) had the largest amount of unclaimed deposits at Rs 20,040.44 crore, followed by Punjab National Bank at Rs 7,585.32 crore. Canara Bank had Rs 6,830.09 crore, while Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India had Rs 5,848.34 crore and Rs 5,549.11 crore, respectively.

Bank of India had Rs 4,473.08 crore in unclaimed deposits, followed by Indian Bank at Rs 3,955.76 crore and Indian Overseas Bank at Rs 2,582.06 crore. Among private sector lenders listed in the data, ICICI Bank had Rs 2,278.13 crore, HDFC Bank had Rs 1,912.12 crore and Axis Bank had Rs 1,733.84 crore.

Rs 17,414 Crore Claims Reimbursed

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reimbursed banks Rs 17,414.68 crore from the DEA Fund for amounts that banks paid to rightful claimants up to June 30, 2026. The fund is used for deposits that remain unclaimed for 10 years, along with certain term deposits and other eligible balances covered under the DEA Fund Scheme.

Under RBI rules, a savings or current account becomes inoperative when there are no customer-induced transactions for more than two years. If balances in such accounts remain unclaimed for 10 years, they are classified as unclaimed deposits and transferred to the DEA Fund.

RBI Steps Up Claim Settlement

The RBI has introduced several measures to help customers, nominees and legal heirs recover unclaimed money. It has also issued directions to standardise procedures for settling claims of deceased customers and has introduced an incentive scheme that provides banks a payout of 5-7.5 per cent of the unclaimed deposit amount, subject to a cap, for each successfully settled claim.

Banks have also been directed to conduct special searches for customers, nominees and legal heirs, update lists of unclaimed deposits on their websites every month, as well as contact accountholders through letters, email or SMS every quarter where contact details are available.

The RBI’s UDGAM portal allows people to search for unclaimed deposits across multiple banks. The government has also launched a common portal covering unclaimed bank deposits, insurance claims, shares, dividends and mutual funds.