By Jemimah Wellington, JKNMedia Reporter
TO DISBURSE insured deposits to customers of the recently liquidated Heritage Bank, specifically targeting accounts with balances up to N5 million, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has unveiled its plan to expedite action.
Following the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) appointing the NDIC as the liquidator, the corporation has assured the public that the payout process will be completed within a week.
This was announced by NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
“Our primary objective is to protect depositors and maintain financial system stability. We will start by paying depositors the maximum insured amount of N5 million, leveraging the Bank Verification Number facility,” Hassan stated.
Hassan highlighted that customers with balances of N5 million or less constitute 99 percent of Heritage Bank’s 2.3 million depositors. The NDIC will prioritize these depositors, enabling those with alternate bank accounts to visit any NDIC branch for payment, while those without alternate accounts can claim their insured amounts via the NDIC website.
Additionally, the NDIC plans to address the payment of uninsured deposits and creditors from the liquidation proceeds of the bank’s assets. Heritage Bank held approximately N650 billion in deposits and N700 billion in loans. Hassan assured that the NDIC would utilize its authority under the NDIC Act 2023 to recover as much of these funds as possible.
“After paying depositors, we will move on to creditors. Our preliminary assessment shows total deposits of around N650 billion, with loans exceeding N700 billion. We aim to recover these loans, empowered by the NDIC Act 2023, which provides a sufficient legal framework for debt recovery. We assure the public that we will leverage these powers to recover as much as possible, starting immediately,” he added.
The CBN, in a statement signed by Acting Director of Corporate Communication Sidi Ali on Monday, announced the revocation of Heritage Bank’s license, citing violations of its regulations.
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