2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVEN - Banking (§§ 1 — 3116) › PART VI - Control And Supervision (§§ 2001 — 2109) › Chapter 133 - Money and Other Liquid Assets Abandoned or Unclaimed (§§ 2101 — 2109) › § 2105 - Publication

(a) Every financial institution or holder, as defined in this chapter, bound to render the report described in § 2104(a) of this title, shall publish annually, once during each of the months of August and September, in a newspaper of general circulation that is published at least six days a week, a notice entitled Unclaimed Money and Other Liquid Assets in the Custody of (name of the financial institution or holder.) Beginning in August 2012, every financial institution or holder, as defined in this chapter, shall post a copy of such notice on their websites and electronically submit such information to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions along with the personal and confidential information that the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions may require through regulations, so that a general list in alphabetical order may be posted on website of the Office. Thus, any person may verify the existence of any unclaimed amounts in any financial institution or holder of Puerto Rico. This notice shall contain:
(1) A general list in alphabetical order of the names of natural or juridical persons who are entitled to claim money or other liquid assets whose aggregate value is one hundred dollars ($100) or more, according to the last report rendered by the institution. Said list shall contain the names of the persons, the town or city of the last known address, and the address of the website in which he/she may access a copy of the notice. In the event that the names are those of natural persons, they shall be listed by surname first.
(2) A statement declaring that, in accordance with the procedures established in this chapter, any sums of money and liquid assets that have not been claimed to the appropriate financial institution or holder shall be turned over to the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, to whom all claims shall be addressed as of the date the unclaimed money and assets are turned over to the Commissioner.
(b) During the following October, and not later than the tenth (10th) day of said month, the pertinent financial institution or holder, shall file with the Commissioner of Financial Institutions a certification of the publication of such notice in a newspaper of general circulation and on the website of the financial institution or holder. A copy of said notice shall be displayed for review by any interested person in a visible and accessible place at every branch of the pertinent financial institution or holder from the date of publication of the notice until November 30th of each year. The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions shall not provide personal information about the owners of the abandoned property to any person who fails to present attesting evidence of being the rightful owner thereof.
The expenses incurred with regard to the publication required by this section shall be defrayed by the financial institution or holder against the money or other liquid assets described in said notice, deducting the amount of such expenses from the total sum thereof. This shall be the only item that can be charged against the unclaimed money or other liquid assets. It shall be illegal for a financial institution or holder to impose service charges to the unclaimed money or other liquid assets either before or after having been declared as such, or that are otherwise stricken from the books.
(c) During the month of December of each year and no later than December 10 of said month, every financial institution or holder that after publishing the notice required above and handling the claims made according to law, has in its custody unclaimed money or other unclaimed liquid assets, regardless of the amount, shall hand over the same to the Commissioner, who shall transfer them to the Secretary of the Treasury to be covered into the general fund of the Government of Puerto Rico.
Within a term of not more than two (2) years from the date of delivery, the Commissioner shall sell, negotiate, liquidate, redeem, exchange, endorse, or otherwise dispose of any shares, certificates or instruments that are delivered to him/her.
(d) No financial institution or holder shall be liable for any money or liquid assets after having delivered the same to the Commissioner pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(e) Every holder of abandoned or unclaimed money or other liquid assets belonging to persons whose last known address is in Puerto Rico and who, pursuant to the laws of the state or territory where they are located, are required to report such property, shall have the obligation to report and turn such property over to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico. This provision shall also apply to moneys or other liquid assets held by a financial institution or holder, as well as to money or other liquid assets reported by a financial institution or holder to another state, possession, or territory of the United States, regardless of the date on which they were reported.
Said financial institutions or holders shall be exempt from meeting the publication requirements provided in § 2105 of this title and meet the requirements of publication and notice to the owner set forth in the laws of the state, territory or possession of the United States where they are located.
As for international banking entities, these shall be required to report and turn such property over to the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico. International banking entities shall be exempt from meeting the requirement of publishing a notice in a newspaper of general circulation set forth in § 2105 of this title, but shall be required to publish such notice on their corresponding websites.
History —July 28, 1989, No. 36, p. 116, § 6; Sept. 2, 2000, No. 346, § 2; Aug. 26, 2002, No. 200, § 1; Aug. 28, 2003, No. 226, § 1; Aug. 6, 2010, No. 122, § 2; Feb. 14, 2012, No. 42, § 1; Sept. 29, 2012, No. 294, § 2.