- This was made known in a statement issued on Sunday, NDIC spokesperson Bashir Nuhu
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced that 82.36% of insured depositors from the defunct Heritage Bank have been reimbursed following the revocation of the bank’s license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3, 2024.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NDIC spokesperson Bashir Nuhu explained that the remaining 17.64% of insured deposits yet to be paid largely involve accounts with post no debits (PND) instructions or those lacking Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).
Nuhu highlighted that the NDIC commenced payments within just four days of the bank’s closure, using the BVN as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternative accounts in other banks. Depositors with balances exceeding the N5 million insured limit have received the initial sum of N5 million, with the remaining balances categorized as uninsured deposits to be paid later as liquidation dividends.
“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 about 82.36% of the total insured deposits paid to date,” the statement read.
Nuhu also noted that the NDIC is actively contacting depositors with unpaid insured deposits due to issues such as PND instructions, lack of BVN, or KYC limits. The corporation is urging these depositors to come forward for verification.
Furthermore, the NDIC is working to recover debts and realize assets of the defunct bank to ensure timely payment of the uninsured depositors through liquidation dividends. Once both insured and uninsured deposits are fully paid, the corporation will proceed with payments to other creditors, following the legal priority of claims.