KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB) says it has removed charges applied to local and foreign currency accounts arising from them being classified as dormant.

Audrey Tugwell Henry, senior general manager, retail banking, says the charges are being “suspended indefinitely”.

“While they are suspended, we will review our current processes and determine how we can best address the real costs associated with effectively maintaining and monitoring these accounts,” she adds.

Tugwell Henry explains that the bank will also seek to identify solutions that meet customers’ needs and NCB’s performance standards, while remaining compliant with all regulatory requirements associated with maintaining the accounts.

According to NCB, a charge of $450 plus general consumption tax (GCT) was previously applied to both business and personal accounts classified as dormant – which arises if there is no customer induced activity on the account for a period of two years for saving accounts and a one-year period of for current accounts.

The bank says that under the Banking Services Act, deposit taking institutions such as NCB are required to report to the Bank of Jamaica deposits treated as unclaimed, due to the absence of a transaction or request for a statement, for seven years.

After a further eight years (totalling 15 years), the Act provides for the minister of finance to publish information on the unclaimed funds, to begin a procedure under which the unclaimed amounts are paid over to the Government of Jamaica.