Dormant Swiss bank account names published

Swiss banking authorities on Wednesday published a list of 2,600 bank accounts that have been dormant for 60 years and have around $45 million in unclaimed assets.

Each citation includes the account holder's name, birth date, last known place of residence, nationality and, in some instances, an account number. Publication follows legislation introduced a year ago to make it easier for long-lost assets to be claimed by family members.

Claude-Alain Margelisch, CEO of the Swiss Bankers Association, said the move gives banks "legal certainty" and clarity over how to treat dormant assets.

Claimants have one year to come forward or the assets will be transferred to the Swiss government. If an account was dormant prior to 1954, claimants have five years to come forward.

In addition to the dormant accounts, there are around 80 safe-deposit boxes listed as dormant. The value of the contents inside is not known.

Swissinfo, a news portal published by the nation's state-run public broadcaster, said Tuesday's published list is not related to dormant bank accounts of Jewish clients killed in the Holocaust. That issue has dogged Swiss financial institutions for decades.

A class action lawsuit in the United States brought on behalf of the heirs of Jewish account holders of Swiss banks was settled in 1998. A fund to compensate Holocaust survivors and their families was closed down in 2013 after it paid out $1.24 billion, Swissinfo said.

Information about the dormant accounts is published at www.dormantaccounts.ch. The Swiss Bankers Association has further information.