Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill [HL]

In part, the voluntary nature of this enterprise means that I cannot give the noble Baroness a direct answer as to how it will work. The relationship between the banks and building societies and the fund will be critical in how people are paid. Working out the interest will, of course, be a matter for the bank, and if the customer is not satisfied, he will be entitled to take the matter further. As I understand it, because the bank is likely to act as the agent for the fund, the bank will pay the customer and will reconcile matters with the reclaim fund through the agency arrangements. So it will be an agency arrangement between the bank and the reclaim fund, and that is how the right amount will be paid.