The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has begun disbursing N5 million each to 82.36 percent of the depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank, following the revocation of the bank’s license.
In a statement released on Sunday in Abuja, Bashir Nuhu, Director of Communication and Public Affairs, confirmed the disbursement.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had withdrawn Heritage Bank’s license on June 3, 2024, citing persistent financial instability and regulatory breaches. This decision was taken under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020, with the objective of preserving Nigeria’s financial system stability.
Following the revocation, the NDIC announced its intention to compensate the bank’s 2.3 million depositors.
According to the latest update, the payment process commenced just four days after the bank’s liquidation. Nuhu explained that the disbursements were facilitated by leveraging the Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) to identify depositors’ accounts in other financial institutions.
The statement read in part, “In the discharge of its deposit guarantee mandate, the Corporation began the payment of the insured deposits of N5m maximum per depositor within a record time of four days of the bank closure.
“This was achieved using Bank Verification Numbers as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks.
“This unprecedented achievement of direct payment through BVN-linked alternate accounts without the need for depositors to visit NDIC offices or fill out forms marks a historic shift for the NDIC in the prompt reimbursement of depositors with payment of about 82.36 per cent of the total insured deposit to date.”
For depositors with more than N5m, the director explained that the remaining balances (classified as uninsured deposits) would be paid as liquidation dividends upon realization of the defunct bank’s assets and recovery of debts owed to the defunct bank.
“It is instructive to state that, the remaining 17.64 per cent of the insured deposits yet to be paid were largely depositors whose accounts have post no debits instructions or have no BVN. Others are those with no alternative accounts in other banks or accounts with a KYC limit on the maximum lodgment per day and are yet to come forward for verification.
“However, depositors with balances exceeding Five Million Naira have been paid the initial insured sum of Five Million Naira, while the remaining balances (classified as uninsured deposits) will be paid as liquidation dividends upon realization of the defunct bank’s assets and recovery of debts owed to the defunct bank,”the statement added.
