SBI, PNB, ICICI among top 10 banks with most unclaimed deposits: Here’s how to get yours back

DEAF was introduced in 2014 to collect unclaimed money from accounts in commercial and co-operative banks that haven’t been used or claimed for over a decade.

As of March 31, 2025, the DEA Fund balance stands at ₹74,580.25 crore. This means that over ₹74,000 crore is currently lying unclaimed in the fund. From this, the State Bank of India (SBI) holds the highest unclaimed deposits at ₹18,669.91 crore, making up for 25.03% of the total deposits, the government told Parliament on Tuesday, December 16. 

The Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, recently presented DEA Fund data in a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha. 

Top 10 banks contributing to the DEA Fund

Here are the banks that contribute the most to DEAF, as on March 31, 2025:

DEA Fund balance over the years

Over the last five years, unclaimed deposits have increased from ₹31,640.05 crore in 2021 to ₹74,580.25 crore in 2025, rising by 135.7%. 

Funds reimbursed to banks

Since FY 2020-21, the DEA Fund has refunded a total of ₹10,403.08 crore to banks to settle claims. Here is detailed data:

The question for this data was: Will the Minister of Finance be pleased to state the amount transferred from DEAF to banks towards refund and settling of unclaimed funds since 2020, the year-wise and bank-wise details thereof? 

How to get your money back?

If your unclaimed funds got transferred to the DEA Fund, here is how you can claim:

• Visit a bank branch (any branch)
• Submit a form with KYC documents for proof of identity and account ownership (such as Aadhaar, driving license, voter ID)

After verification, you’ll receive your money. Notably, there’s no time limit for claiming a refund, so you can get your unclaimed money back at any time. The RBI conducts special camps for this as well to raise awareness about unclaimed funds.