Banks cannot access locker contents, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said banks cannot access or record locker contents as it violates rules. She ruled out differential insurance based on stored valuables, stating compensation remains fixed at 100 times the annual locker rent

New Delhi: Banks cannot see or record what valuables customers store in lockers, as it would lead to a breach of banking regulations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday, ruling out differential insurance coverage based on contents.

Sitharaman was replying to a supplementary question raised by Congress leader and MP from Gadchiroli–Chimur constituency, Namdeo Dasaram Kirsan, in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

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“Sitting and watching the disclosure of a client of what valuables he is going to keep in the locker is a breach of banking rules, and banks would not do that, so that cannot be a measure for me to decide whether there should be differential coverage,” she said.

The Finance Minister further said the standard coverage for locker holders is fixed at 100 times the annual locker rent in case of any loss. This is because banks cannot inspect or evaluate the contents of lockers, making it impractical to provide insurance based on actual value, she added.

“For each one of them (lockers) separately, it is not possible, so it is decided that 100 times is what is given for any loss if there is a loss, if there is a locker breaking loss or something like that. At the moment, there is nothing before me for any other consideration,” she explained.