“Inhuman action by banks on death of a customer”

LETTER

I read with interest Mr. A. Weerasekera's letter on the above subject published in the Business section of the Sunday Times on February 2. It was very well written.

The subject matter was that on the death of a customer, who had a fixed deposit, some banks consider death as a premature withdrawal and calculate interest from the date of renewal to death at the interest rates applicable to a savings account. This affects the balance capital due to the heir/ beneficiary.

The banks do not lose any money as the deposit is with them. Assuming the customer was a senior citizen and the rate of interest was 14.06 per cent on a monthly basis or 15 per cent at maturity, then the customer is entitled to this rate till the date of his death.

As long as the heir/beneficiary maintains the deposit till maturity, the bank should apply the lower rate applicable to heir /beneficiary, e.g. 11 per cent from that date of death of the customer to date of maturity.

If any interest has been paid in excess in that month only that excess should to be recovered when paying heir/beneficiary.

I am sure that the decision makers e.g. Central Bank, could make a ruling on this matter as they too will someday be affected by this oversight.

The employees of the banks too will be affected someday.

May I kindly request the Business Times to make representations on our behalf as the paper has done in the case of the issue of special interest on Rs.1 million-Rs. 1.5 million deposits which got delayed by 1 1/2 years for senior citizens? If not for the campaign by the paper, which regularly highlighted this matter, the authorities most likely would have ignored the pleas of senior citizens

In my case, I do not want my heir / beneficiary to lose any interest or capital.