Authority mulls converting unclaimed assets into cash
Members of the public learn how they can check the status of any unclaimed financial assets from the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) desk at Kamukunji grounds in Nyeri town on July 6, 2023. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG
The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (Ufaa) is considering converting non-cash unclaimed assets into cash in a bid to expedite the reunification of the items with their heirs.
Ufaa said that by December last year, it had received unclaimed financial assets worth Sh55.6 billion including Sh27.28 billion in cash and Sh28.32 billion in shares.
“The Authority will explore the option of converting non-cash unclaimed assets in cash equivalent (especially shares and safe deposit contents),” said Ufaa.
The largest share of the unclaimed assets was remitted to Ufaa by banks (67.7 percent), listed companies (16.9 percent), telecoms operators (9.3 percent), insurance companies (5.3 percent), other sources (0.3 percent), pension funds (0.1 percent) and saccos (0.3 percent).
The agency, however, says it is harder to reconcile non-cash assets to their rightful owners compared to cash assets. Its figures show that the rate of the reunification of non-cash assets is at 3.7 percent and a much higher success rate of 5.7 percent for cash assets.
This has prompted it to consider converting some of these assets, especially shares and valuables in safe deposit boxes into cash by selling them.
Individuals store a wide array of valuables in safe deposit boxes including jewellery, precious metals, artwork, important documents, cash, heirlooms, firearms, and valuable collectables.
As at December 2022, some 147,509,713 shares and 3,658 safe deposit boxes had been surrendered to the Authority.
Shares are usually classified as unclaimed or abandoned if the person who bought them fails to claim a dividend, distribution, or other sum payable as a result of the interest held for more than three years.
