Slug: Locker Rules

New Delhi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that banks are not allowed to see or record what customers keep inside their lockers, as doing so would break banking rules and violate customer privacy. She made this clear while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

The minister was responding to a supplementary query raised by Congress MP Namdeo Dasaram Kirsan from the Gadchiroli–Chimur constituency. The question was about whether banks could offer different insurance coverage based on the value of items stored in lockers. Sitharaman firmly rejected this idea.

She explained that banks cannot monitor or ask customers to disclose the valuables they place in lockers. According to her, such actions would go against banking regulations and customer trust. “Banks cannot sit and watch or record what a customer keeps in a locker. That would be a clear breach of rules,” she said.

Because banks have no information about the contents, it is not possible to decide insurance coverage based on the actual value of stored items. Instead, a standard rule is followed across all banks. Sitharaman stated that, in case of any loss such as theft, fire, or locker break-in, customers are eligible for compensation equal to 100 times the annual locker rent.

She added that this fixed compensation system ensures fairness and avoids complications. Since each locker may contain different items of unknown value, assessing them individually is not practical.

Nirmala Sitharaman said there is currently no plan to change rules or offer varied insurance, stressing privacy, assuring confidentiality, and urging customers to secure valuables carefully.