The Co-operative Bank will officially announce later today that it has been given FSA authority to administer the Central Reclaim Fund, which will manage around £400m of assets from dormant bank accounts which have not been used for 15 years or more.

The Central Reclaim Fund is expected to channel funds to the Big Lottery Fund, which will then fund the Big Society Bank, which will provide capital for the civil society sector.

It has been reported that David Anderson, former chief executive of Co-operative Financial Services, will chair the Central Reclaim Fund, while Paul Mills, a business leader at the Co-op, will be executive director in charge of administrating the fund.

A Co-operative Bank spokeswoman said an official statement would be released later today.