On the morning of November 20, Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank announced that it will clean up and close some unit bank settlement accounts that have been inactive for a long time. Recently, some banks have adopted similar practices to Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank, including Dangyang Rural Commercial Bank, China Construction Bank Weifang Branch, Bank of Nanjing.
According to the Financial Associated Press on November 20 (Reporter Peng Kefeng), the "supply-side reform" of sleep accounts in banks this year has gradually extended from personal accounts to corporate and public accounts.
On the morning of November 20, the Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank announced that it would clean up and close some long-dormant bank settlement accounts of certain units. The Financial Associated Press reporter noted that recently, both the Dayang Rural Commercial Bank and the Bank of Nanjing have taken action to clean up and regulate corporate accounts.
The Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank takes action: some long-dormant units will have their accounts closed.
This morning, the Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank announced in the local official media "Gansu Economic Daily" that it would clean up some long-dormant accounts of certain units.
The Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank stated that the cleanup involves public accounts including: units that have been merged, dissolved, declared bankrupt, or closed; enterprises that have been canceled or had their business licenses revoked; and bank settlement accounts of units that have not had any income or expenditure activities for a year and do not owe debts to the account-opening banks. The bank also stated that according to regulatory requirements, unit accounts with no income or expenditure activities for one year and no debts owed to the account-opening banks should be notified to the units to voluntarily close the accounts within 30 days from the date of notification; otherwise, it will be treated as voluntary closure, and any untransferred funds will be managed under the long-dormant special account.
The Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank indicated that it would announce the closure of relevant unit bank settlement accounts, and relevant units must handle account closure procedures at the bank’s branch within 30 days from the date of the announcement. If not completed within the time frame, it will be treated as voluntary closure, and the consequences arising from this will be borne by the account-opening unit.
Finally, the Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank stated that the accounts canceled during this cleanup would have their account opening permits and client password forms simultaneously rendered invalid. During the account cleanup process, banks will not request the account-opening units to provide payment passwords, online banking login passwords, SMS verification codes, or any important information for any reason or by any means. Account-opening units should be careful to protect related information to prevent information leakage that could cause financial losses.
Recently, more than thirty banks have started account adjustments, and the Bank of Nanjing has also focused on "corporate accounts."
According to a report from the Financial Association, since June, more than thirty banking institutions, including state-owned banks and well-known joint-stock banks, have announced the cleaning and rectification of bank accounts. However, the majority of banks target personal accounts for cleaning. For example, on July 4th, the Bank of Communications announced that it would start clearing dormant debit cards on July 10, 2024. According to the announcement, the targets for cleaning include personal debit cards that have not had any transaction activity (such as deposits, withdrawals, transfers, consumer transactions, payments, etc.) for more than two consecutive years, with a balance of 0 yuan and no business functions activated.
However, some banks have approaches similar to the Jinchang Rural Commercial Bank, including the Dayang Rural Commercial Bank, China Construction Bank Corporation Weifang Branch, and the Bank of Nanjing.
Specifically, the Dayang Rural Commercial Bank announced in June that to standardize customer management and ensure the security of customer funds, it will carry out account closures for corporate accounts that have not had any payment activities for over a year.
On September 14th, the China Construction Bank Corporation Weifang Branch published a statement saying that to strengthen the quality management of RMB bank settlement accounts for units and effectively protect depositors' accounts and funds, the bank decided to carry out cleaning work for RMB bank settlement accounts. Accounts with zero balance that have not had any payment activities for more than a year and do not owe debts to the opening bank will be closed. If your unit's account meets the cleaning conditions and you wish to continue using it, please handle the reactivation procedures at the account opening outlet before the announcement period ends.
On October 10th, the Bank of Nanjing issued an announcement stating that to strengthen the management of bank settlement accounts and effectively protect the security of customers' funds in bank accounts, prevent risks of telecom network fraud, and promote reasonable arrangements and use of bank accounts, it will clean up bank settlement accounts for corporate clients whose business registration status is "canceled" or "revoked" as of December 31, 2023, and who have not engaged in any proactive transactions for more than two consecutive years (including two years) with a current account balance of less than or equal to 10 yuan. Affected customers need to handle account closure or retention procedures by November 14, 2024.
