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Commerce backs transfer of inactive bank accounts to Treasury
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Posted on Feb 07 2012
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Reporter
Commerce Secretary Sixto K. Igisomar asked Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to immediately approve a revenue-generating bill that allows the government to have access to dormant and inactive bank accounts and unclaimed funds.
House Bill 17-139, House Draft 2, which cleared the Legislature in December, is now before the governor for action.
“To better provide transparency and services to our consumers and responding to their needs in preventing banking institutions from raiding savings accounts in an effort to protect the account holder from losing their hard-earned funds, I respectfully request your immediate approval of House Bill 17-139, HD2,” Igisomar told Fitial in a two-page letter.
Igisomar cited five reasons for fully supporting and endorsing the bill’s passage, including Commerce’s own request to amend existing law to making “mandatory” transfers of inactive/dormant accounts to Treasury versus the “may” or discretionary provision and to have the CNMI’s law consistent with other U.S. banking laws.
Igisomar said Commerce has also received numerous complaints from owners of accounts becoming dormant and could not access to such account after a period of time.
He said signing this bill into law would also standardize local banking laws with other neighboring islands inasmuch as most of the CNMI banks are branches of banks in Hawaii and Guam.
Igisomar said this legislation also addresses the reporting of dormant/inactive accounts which is something the banks can start producing and submitting.
He added that upon enactment of HB 17-239, HD2, introduced by Rep. Ray Yumul (R-Saipan), Commerce will immediately work with the Department of Finance and the Office of the Attorney General to expedite the promulgation of regulations.
