‘Why Some Are Yet To Receive Insured Deposits’
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), on Sunday announced plans to declare the first tranche of liquidation dividends of the defunct Heritage Bank Limited in April 2025.
The payout, the corporation said in a statement by Hawwau Gambo, acting Head, Communication & Public Affairs of the corporation, is based on the considerable progress recorded in the asset realization of the bank, adding that the depositors will receive the payout “on a pro-rata basis, in line with Section 72 of the NDIC Act 2023 on the priority of claims.”
Thereafter, other claimants of the failed Heritage Bank, including creditors, and shareholders, will be considered for payment of liquidation dividends only after all depositors have been fully reimbursed, she added.
For clarity, the corporation said Section 72 of the NDIC Act 2023, states that: “Where an insured institution is unable to meet its obligations or suspends payment, or where its management and control have been taken over by the Central Bank of Nigeria following the revocation of its license, the assets of the insured institution shall be available to meet its deposit liabilities. Such deposit liabilities shall have priority over all other liabilities of the insured institution.”
The corporation said it is intensifying efforts to pay each depositor of the bank up to the N5m maximum insured deposits.
Recall that the corporation, in accordance with Section 12(2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and Section 55(1 & 2) of the NDIC Act 2023, was appointed as the liquidator Heritage Bank, following the revocation of its operating licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3, 2024.
A statement by the corporation said significant progress has been made in reimbursing the insured deposits of the N5 million maximum per depositor, noting that those who are “yet to be paid their insured deposits are largely those without Bank Verification Number (BVN) or alternate accounts in other banks to enable the Corporation fetch the accounts from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) database to effect payment.”
Other depositors in this category, according to the statement are those with post no debit (PND) restrictions on their accounts, just as some others “have Know Your Customer (KYC) limitations such as Tier 1 accounts that places restrictions on the maximum lodgment of funds.
Gambo also listed another category as those having name mismatches that require resolution, stressing that even some of those “who have been paid may also be unaware that they have received payments due to lack of mobile phone transaction alerts on their alternate accounts into which the insured sums were paid by the NDIC.”
The corporation, therefore urged depositors “to check their alternate bank accounts, as some payments may have been processed without their immediate awareness.
For those who have received the initial insured sums of the N5m, the NDIC assured that the remaining “balance in excess of the insured sum of the N5m already reimbursed, will be paid as liquidation dividends in accordance with the Corporation’s statutory mandate.
“The NDIC has made substantial progress in disposing the physical assets and recovering some of the debts of the failed bank to ensure that depositors with balances above the maximum insured limit receive their payments as soon as possible. As a clear demonstration of this commitment, the Corporation commenced the realization of physical assets and investments as well as aggressive recovery of the risk assets, concurrently with the verification and payment of insured sums.
“To ensure transparency and compliance with legal requirements, the NDIC has widely advertised the asset disposal process on its official website, social media platforms, and major national newspapers, as well as through radio and television announcements.”
The NDIC assured that its “approach of simultaneously paying insured depositors while aggressively pursuing asset sales and debt recovery is designed to accelerate the liquidation process and ensure that all depositors receive their funds without unnecessary delays.
The statement reiterated the corporation’s commitment to the safety of depositors’ funds in all licensed banks, urging members of the public to continue their banking activities without fear, as all other banks remain safe and sound.
