Since demutualisation, unclaimed funds have been allocated to a special account, the insurer said.

France still holds unclaimed funds worth $2 billion, and financial institutions have an additional $1 billion, the report said.

Last year alone, the office received about $304 million in unclaimed funds, but returned only $60 million.

New York got to keep unclaimed funds from the big banks chartered in the state.

"In the case of unclaimed funds, the banks or other companies holding those accounts have no incentive to find the owners, and neither does the state."

The states return about 40 percent of all unclaimed funds to their owners.

Right now those unclaimed funds stay with the distributors and beverage industry, which helps explains their resistance to this bill.

The 44 states have different rules regulating how unclaimed funds are used.

Some of the unclaimed funds taken by the bank were supposed to be turned over to the state.

Texas, where Sun Oil had offices, said it deserved the unclaimed funds.