DORMANT BANK ACCOUNTS

That this House notes that recent estimates suggest that UK bank and building society customers have thousands of pounds of unclaimed assets in dormant bank and savings accounts; further notes the Government's plans to introduce a scheme to distribute accounts left dormant for over 15 years to charitable causes; believes that first and foremost this money belongs to individuals and that every effort should first be made to reunite them with their funds; congratulates Halifax Bank of Scotland for launching a major campaign to reunite customers with their lost balances; recognises that this is the first such initiative to be launched by a bank; and calls on other banks and building societies to follow suit.