The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced that it has disbursed N5 million each to 82.36% of the total customers of the defunct Heritage Bank.
The NDIC also reported that 17.64% of the insured deposits are still pending, primarily due to issues such as Post-No Debits instructions on accounts or the absence of a Bank Verification Number (BVN).
This information was shared in a statement issued on Sunday by Bashir Nuhu, Director of Communication and Public Affairs, in Abuja.
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On June 3, 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked Heritage Bank Plc’s banking license due to ongoing financial instability and regulatory violations. This action was in accordance with the CBN’s mandate under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020, which aims to ensure a stable financial system in Nigeria.
Following the revocation, the NDIC began processing payments to the bank’s 2.3 million depositors. According to the statement, disbursements started just four days after the liquidation.
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The NDIC utilized Bank Verification Numbers as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks to facilitate the payments.
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.”
The director explained that for depositors with balances exceeding N5 million, the remaining amounts—classified as uninsured deposits—will be paid out as liquidation dividends once the assets of the defunct bank are realized and any debts owed to the bank are recovered.
“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.
