BSA welcomes Government response on unclaimed assets

Commenting on the Government's response to the Treasury Select Committee's report on unclaimed assets, published today, Adrian Coles, Director-General of the BSA said: "The Government has today reaffirmed its commitment to a voluntary unclaimed assets scheme with a definition of 15 years of no customer activity. The BSA wholly supports this approach and welcomes the Government's endorsement of it. The BSA is committed to the development of the unclaimed assets scheme and will be encouraging all building societies to sign-up to it.

"15 years of no customer activity is sensible and the BSA is pleased the Government has rejected the Committee's proposal of 10 years. The longer the timescale, the greater the likelihood that these accounts are genuinely lost, rather than merely untouched. This means the money is less likely to be reclaimed once it has been transferred to the scheme and therefore maximises the amount available for good causes.

"The Government's commitment to ensure the majority of building societies - as small and local organisations - will be able to channel money directly back into their local communities is encouraging. As mutuals, it is important for societies to be able support the communities from where they draw their members. The Government also re-confirms that the scheme will not affect the membership rights of building society members; this is welcome.

"Central to the unclaimed assets scheme will be the ability for account holders to reclaim their money at any time. This money belongs to them and they should be reassured that they will not lose out as a result of this scheme.

"Finally, there is one area where the BSA disagrees with the Government. The BSA is disappointed that the Government has not supported the Committee's call for NS& I to be involved in the scheme. This would increase the flow of funds going to charities and increase the incentive for NS& I to intensify their programme of reuniting savers with their funds."