UK financial institutions returning unclaimed assets to their customers are being offered a new service.
In recent years the UK government has increased the pressure on
financial institutions to return money to its owners or donate it to
charity, and the issue of unclaimed assets has become a corporate
responsibility matter.
Now ICSA Software International, which took over the London Stock Exchange’s Corporate Responsibility Exchange last October (EP8, issue 8),
has set up a ‘reunification service’ so that financial institutions can
be ‘proactive in returning unclaimed assets to shareholders and
customers’. For every claim that it administers, ICSA Software’s new
company, Assets Reunited, will give one per cent of its fee to
ShareGift, the international share donation charity.
As much as £3billion ($5.8bn) in unclaimed assets is thought to be held
by UK financial institutions, mainly in the form of unclaimed
shareholder entitlements, bank accounts and insurance policies, and
also held in pensions.
