Following the revocation of Heritage Bank’s operating license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has disbursed five million naira each to 82.36 per cent of total customers of the defunct bank.
NDIC’s Director, Communication and Public Affairs, Bashir Nuhu, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said depositors with balances exceeding Five Million Naira will be paid their balances after the liquidation of the defunct bank’s assets and debt recovery.
Nuhu noted that 17.64 per cent of the insured depositors that are yet to be paid, belong to depositors with accounts that have “Post-No Debits” instructions, those who lack a Bank Verification Number and those with no alternative accounts in other banks.
Tne NDIC Director however assured that these category of depositors are presently being contacted by the Corporation through telephone calls and text messages to come forward for verification.
The Statement Reads in Part:
In the discharge of its deposit guarantee mandate, the Corporation began the payment of the insured deposits of Five Million Naira (N5,000,000) maximum per depositor within a record time of four (4) days of the bank closure.
This was achieved using Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks.
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.
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% of the total insured deposit to date.
It is instructive to state that, the remaining 17.64% of the insured deposits yet to be paid were largely depositors whose accounts have post no debits (PND) instructions or have no BVN.
Others are those with no alternative accounts in other banks or accounts with KYC limit on the maximum lodgment per day and are yet to come forward for verification.
These category of depositors are presently being contacted by the Corporation through telephone calls and text messages to come forward for verification.
Speaking on Payment of Uninsured Deposits and Other Claimants, the Director said, “The Corporation is already working assiduously to ensure that all depositors with amounts in excess of the maximum insured amount of N5 million are timely paid through liquidation dividend from realisation of the defunct bank’s assets”.
Nuhu disclosed that the Corporation has already initiated the process of debt recovery and realisation of investments and physical assets of the defunct bank to ensure timely reimbursement of the uninsured depositors of the defunct bank.
However, the Corporation informed that after the full payment of both insured and uninsured portion of deposits, it will proceed with the payment of creditors in accordance with priority of claim as provided in the extant law.
“We will like to reiterate that, all payments other than that of insured deposits, are subject to availability and realisation of assets of the bank in the form of liquidation dividend”, the statement said.
The NDIC reaffirmed its commitment to the safety of depositors’ funds in all licensed banks, while it urged members of the public to continue their banking activities without fear, noting that all other banks are safe and sound
