Bank Statement Returned Mail Compliance

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Question:

I am looking into compliance around returned mail for bank statements for DDA, SDA, CDs and IRAs. Are there laws out there stating we must retain the original statement sent if it is returned to us in the mail? How many times must we try to contact a customer if we get notice of returned mail?

Answer:

There are no specific regulations that cover returned mail. Your general record retention requirements would require that you have the ability to recreate the statements or other mailings and most automated deposit accounting/processing systems provide that ability. Once a bank exhausts efforts to locate the customer for delivery of returned mail, they usually shred the documents and recreate them for the customer on request, if the customer is located.

First published on BankersOnline.com 3/17/08