According to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), 82.36% of the former Heritage Bank’s clients with deposits under the N5 million maximum insured deposit have received their money back.
Bashir Nuhu, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NDIC, disclosed this in a statement yesterday, saying that it was accomplished through the usage of BVN-linked alternate accounts of the deceased bank customers.
He stated: “The Corporation began paying insured deposits of a maximum of five million naira (N5,000,000) per depositor within four (4) days of the bank’s closure.”
“This was accomplished by employing Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) as a unique identifier to discover depositors’ other accounts at other banks.
Depositors with balances greater than Five Million Naira have received the initial insured sum of Five Million Naira, while the remaining balances (classified as uninsured deposits) will be paid as liquidation dividends upon the realisation of the defunct bank’s assets and the recovery of debts owed to the defunct bank.
“This unprecedented achievement of direct payment through BVN-linked alternate accounts without the need for depositors to visit NDIC offices or fill out forms represents a historic shift for the NDIC in the prompt reimbursement of depositors, with payment of approximately 82.36% of the total insured deposit to date.
“The remaining 17.64% of insured deposits that have yet to be paid were primarily from depositors whose accounts have post no debits (PND) instructions or no BVN.” “Others are those who have no alternative accounts in other banks or accounts with a KYC limit on the maximum deposit per day and have yet to appear for verification.
“These categories of depositors are presently being contacted by the Corporation through telephone calls and text messages to come forward for verification.”
He stated that the NDIC has begun a debt recovery procedure as well as the realisation of the defunct bank’s investments and physical assets in order to generate cash for timely compensation of customers with deposits above the N5 million protected deposit limit.
What they’re saying
“Following the full payment of both insured and uninsured deposits, the Corporation will proceed with the payment of creditors in accordance with the priority of claim as allowed by the existing law. We would like to underline that any payments other than insured deposits are subject to the availability and realisation of the bank’s assets in the form of a liquidation dividend,” he said.
In Essence
For depositors with balances exceeding the N5 million insured limit, the NDIC’s strategy of paying the insured portion immediately while committing to pay the remainder as liquidation dividends is standard practice.
However, the effectiveness of this approach will depend on the success of the NDIC’s efforts in recovering the defunct bank’s assets and debts. The NDIC’s commitment to transparency in this process, as well as clear communication with affected depositors, will be crucial in maintaining trust.
