The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), on Sunday said the first tranche of liquidation dividends of ₦46.6bn from the proceeds of sales of assets and recovery of debts owed to the defunct Heritage Bank Limited began on Friday, April 25.
A liquidation dividend represents, according a statement by Hawwau Gambo, Acting Head, Communication & Public Affairs at the NDIC, amount paid to depositors of a closed bank, in excess of the maximum insured limit, from the proceeds of sales of assets and recovery from the debtors of the failed bank. It also includes amounts paid to creditors and shareholders after all depositors have been fully paid.
This initial dividend payment which is in line with its commitment to ensuring that depositors of the defunct bank are fully reimbursed, the corporation said in a statement was at the rate of 9.2 kobo per Naira on a pro-rata basis to the depositors whose account balances exceeded the NDIC’s maximum insured limit of ₦5.0 million as at the time of the bank’s closure.
Recall that following the revocation of the Heritage Bank’s operating license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3, 2024, the NDIC promptly began reimbursing insured deposits of up to N5m per depositor.
To ensure seamless and efficient payment process, the NDIC said it used the depositors’ Bank Verification Number (BVN) to locate alternate account numbers of depositors in other banks and automatically credited them with the insured amount, just it leveraged the existing records used in the payment of the insured amount to facilitate the disbursement of first tranche of liquidation dividends.
Consequently, it urged any depositor with amount in excess of N5.0 million, who received the insured amount but was not paid the liquidation dividends to approach the nearest NDIC office or contact the corporation on the telephone, while those without alternative bank account and were not paid the insured amount, were “advised to visit the nearest NDIC office or go to the claims page on the Corporation’s website, www.ndic.gov.ng to download, complete and submit deposit verification form for the payment of the insured amount and where applicable, the first tranche of their liquidation dividends.”
The statement reassured “that this payment represents only the first tranche of liquidation dividends. Further payments will follow as more assets of the defunct Heritage Bank are realized and outstanding debts are recovered. The NDIC remains committed to its vigorous efforts in assets recovery and ensuring all eligible depositors are reimbursed.”
