Nairobi, Sept. 7 -- The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) has lined up a raft of policy changes, including a reduction of penalties and the extension of the dormancy period, in a bid to unlock Sh30.5 billion in unclaimed dividends for investors in saccos and Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms.

Proposals by UFAA, seen by the Business Daily, seek to extend the time listed companies and saccos have to look for the rightful owners of dividends by two years before such assets can be declared abandoned and handed over to the agency.

The Unclaimed Financial Assets (Amendment) Bill proposes that shares and dividends be presumed abandoned after five years, up from the current three years.

Dividends are deemed abandoned when payo...