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Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill [HL]

The noble Lord has largely answered his own question. He asked whether the banks and building societies would act with a degree of prudence in relation to a percentage of claims which might come in, despite the fact that they had identified these dormant accounts. We expect dormant accounts to be exactly what they are categorised as being; that is, dormant accounts on which future claims will not obtain in the vast majority of cases. That is why their resources can properly be directed towards the objectives that the Bill identifies. It would be a foolish bank or building society that did not have any resource to cover itself against a potentially successful claim. It is for the bank or building society to make a judgment on that.