HSBC reunites savers with £5.5m

HSBC has provided 3,500 customers with debt help by reuniting them with over £5.5 million in forgotten savings lying in dormant accounts.

The bank launched a campaign in September 2008 to track down holders of accounts that had lain untouched for more than 15 years, with the average amount in these accounts being £1,000.

“Money lies in dormant accounts for all sorts of reasons. Smaller amounts are often just forgotten, while larger amounts are often just being left to sit there only to be used in case of emergencies,” explained HSBC spokesperson Steve Eustice.

He revealed that the greatest difficulty the bank encountered was trying to track down customers who had moved away without informing the company.

Lloyds Banking Group has also launched a drive to locate clients with money lying unused in savings, current accounts and business accounts.

The amount held in these accounts at the start of 2009 stood at £93 million, the firm revealed.

By Jamie Price