This NEWS INT report. Think we should wait and see the details. Many jurisdictions have implemented similar rules over past 10 years, and for this reason :-
Banks historically have pocketed the forgotten accounts. Some of these run into the millions. After X years they take the liability at fraction of the amount in dormant accounts as statistically only Y % ever ends up claiming the money.
Which means they basically add it to their profits at a point in time. You will probably find that in the small print the bank can stop paying interest if the account has been dormant for Z period of time. Worse they often keep debiting the account for holding fees!!!
And so various countries have taken the view that this unclaimed money is better off with a centralized 'guardian', and to avoid ongoing fees that often drain the account to zero anyway.
Think of it this way - if you think your long lost and now deceased great uncle may have left a pile of loot, then rather than having to write to every financial institution in the country you can go to one place and find out if you are in for a windfall. There are some good reasons why this should be done.
The devil will be in the detail. And of course it does not make such a good scare the punters story for the low caste press!
