Weak Identity System Fueling Unclaimed Dividends, Dormant Assets — Amolegbe

Weak Identity System Fueling Unclaimed Dividends, Dormant Assets — Amolegbe

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Arthur Stevens Asset Management Limited, Mr Olatunde Amolegbe, has identified weak identity management as a major factor responsible for the growing accumulation of unclaimed dividends and dormant financial assets in Nigeria.

Amolegbe, a Fellow of the Chartered Stockbrokers (FCS), said the challenge could be significantly reduced if the country established a unified and reliable means of identification across the financial system.

He stressed the need for a single, universally recognised identity that could be used to link individuals to their various financial accounts and investments.

He stated this on Thursday during an interview on the Politics and Economy programme of WebTV, monitored by Newslife.

According to him, the absence of effective identity management had made it difficult for financial institutions and regulators to accurately trace beneficiaries of dividends, dormant bank accounts and other financial assets.

He said, “The accumulation of unclaimed dividends and dormant financial assets stemmed fundamentally from weak identity management. We must establish a single, sacrosanct means of identification across the financial system.”

Amolegbe’s position highlights the broader challenges associated with fragmented identity systems in the country, where individuals may have different records across banks, the capital market, pension administrators, insurance companies and other financial institutions.

A harmonised identity framework, he noted, would make it easier to authenticate account holders, trace beneficiaries and reduce cases where legitimate owners are unable to access their funds.

It would also strengthen transparency and accountability within the financial sector while helping regulators tackle fraud and multiple identities.

The call comes amid continuing efforts by financial sector regulators and market operators to reduce the volume of unclaimed dividends and dormant assets and reconnect them with their rightful owners.

Amolegbe therefore advocated stronger collaboration among relevant agencies and financial institutions to ensure that identity information is accurate, secure and easily verifiable across the financial ecosystem.

He maintained that addressing the identity challenge would not only help recover existing unclaimed assets but also prevent the problem from worsening in the future.

Source: Web TV