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by Doug Breaker inDid you know that New York is holding a vast amount of unclaimed property that's owed to its residents? Free money sounds too good to be true, but it's real.
Do you know what's even more surprising? A significant chunk of this property is money owed by banks to individuals, just like you.
Many are unaware that institutions, including banks, are legally obligated to turn over inactive accounts to the state. These can be anything from forgotten savings accounts, uncashed checks, or dividends that never reached their rightful owners. The reasons can vary – perhaps the bank lost contact due to a change in address, or an account holder passed away with no known heirs. Regardless of the circumstance, this "lost" money doesn't disappear; it's held in trust by the state, waiting to be claimed.
For many New Yorkers, this might sound too good to be true. Can there really be money waiting for them, perhaps even from decades ago? The answer is a resounding yes. In fact, the New York State Office of the State Comptroller's Office of Unclaimed Funds (OUF) safeguards these lost assets. According to their records, New York is holding over 16 Billion dollars of unclaimed property that remains waiting for its rightful owner or owners. And remember, this isn't the state's money – it's the people's.
We analyzed New York's most recent data and found that seven banks land in the top twenty one companies that have these unclaimed funds waiting for people, see the table below.
Let's take a look at a few of the banks in the list.
Citibank Owes More Than 158,000 People Unclaimed Funds in New York
Citibank, one of the largest national banks, has turned over unclaimed property for over 158,000 people. In Brooklyn alone Citibank is listed as the unclaimed property holder for more than 25,000 people.
When we look at the type of unclaimed property owed by Citibank across all of NY, it includes cashiers checks, deposit accounts, certified checks, and amounts due for undelivered goods or services.
Bank of America Owes More Than 48,000 People Unclaimed Funds in New York
Bank of America has turned over unclaimed property for over 48,000 people. In the just city of New York it's reported unclaimed property for more than 10,000 people.
When we look at the type of unclaimed property owed by Citibank across all of NY, it includes over 31,000 cases of credit balances on credit cards, almost 8,000 deposit accounts, 2,300+ savings accounts and over 1,700 checks issued to vendors that have not been cashed.
How To Check To See If You Or Your Company Are Owed Money
If you ever lived or worked in New York, chances are decent that you may be owed money. To see how to search for property and and claim it, we recommend checking out the guide here, and the official New York unclaimed property page.