These inactive, large balance accounts are a temptation to a fraudulent bank officer or employee. In a rising stock or real estate market, bank employees have dipped into the accounts to fund their speculative urges. If the market rises, they can replenish the plundered account. If not, they often embezzle from a second account to restore the first account, and then double their bets to return to even money. In most instances, the final tally is major losses in several dormant accounts.
Financial institutions are unusual in that their primary commodity is money and credit.
No one thinks it unusual for a bank to release millions or, indeed, tens of millions of dollars. These sums and the ease with which they can be spirited out of the bank can and have corrupted insiders and bank customers.