The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced that it has successfully paid 82.36 percent of the depositors of the now-defunct Heritage Bank, following the revocation of the bank’s license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in June 2024.
The CBN had appointed NDIC as the liquidator to oversee the payment process.
In a recent statement signed by Director, Communication and Public Affairs, Mr. Bashir Nuhu, NDIC revealed that the payment to verified depositors began within just four days of Heritage Bank’s liquidation.
The payments were facilitated by utilising Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) as unique identifiers to trace depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks, ensuring a prompt and efficient reimbursement process.
“In fulfilling our deposit guarantee mandate, we commenced the payment of insured deposits, with a maximum limit of N5 million per depositor, just four days after the bank’s closure,” the NDIC explained.
The corporation highlighted that depositors with balances exceeding N5 million have already received the initial insured amount, while the remaining balances, classified as uninsured deposits, will be paid as liquidation dividends once the bank’s assets are realised and debts are recovered.
The NDIC stressed that this approach, which allows direct payments through BVN-linked accounts without requiring depositors to visit NDIC offices or complete forms, represents a significant advancement in the corporation’s efforts to promptly reimburse depositors. To date, 82.36 percent of the total insured deposits have been disbursed.
However, 17.64 percent of the insured deposits remain unpaid, primarily involving depositors whose accounts have ‘no-debit’ instructions, lack BVNs, or have no alternative accounts in other banks. The NDIC is actively reaching out to these depositors through phone calls and text messages, urging them to come forward for verification.
Regarding uninsured deposits, which constitute a larger portion of Heritage Bank’s total deposits, the NDIC assured that it is working diligently to ensure timely payment through liquidation dividends from the realisation of the bank’s assets. The process of debt recovery and the sale of investments and physical assets is already underway to facilitate these payments.
Once both insured and uninsured deposits are fully paid, the NDIC will proceed to settle creditors’ claims in accordance with the legal priority of claims.
The corporation reiterated that all payments beyond the insured deposits depend on the availability and realisation of the bank’s assets.
