The Managing Director/CEO of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Bello Hassan, has assured customers of the recently failed Heritage Bank that their deposits are secure.
Hassan, represented by Mustapha Ibrahim, the Executive Director (Operations) at the NDIC, made the statement during the 2024 NDIC Editors Forum in Lagos on Saturday.
He emphasized the corporation’s crucial role in protecting depositors, especially following the closure of Heritage Bank, which was ordered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3, 2024.
Hassan outlined the NDIC’s responsibility as the appointed liquidator of Heritage Bank, following the revocation of the bank’s license.
He explained that the NDIC’s role includes overseeing the bank’s orderly resolution, managing the payment of insured deposits to depositors, and settling claims.
He highlighted that the NDIC began reimbursing depositors within just four days of the bank’s closure, a feat achieved by using Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) to quickly locate depositors’ accounts at other banks.
This method allowed many depositors to receive their funds without the need to visit NDIC offices or fill out forms.
Furthermore, Hassan noted that the recent increase in the deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5 million significantly mitigated the impact of the bank’s failure on most affected customers.
He emphasized that this change aligned with the International Association of Deposit Insurers’ Core Principle 15, which stresses the importance of timely payouts to depositors in the event of a bank failure.
The NDIC has already reimbursed the insured deposits (up to N5 million per depositor), and the next step, according to Hassan, is to ensure that depositors with balances exceeding the insured amount are also compensated.
He assured that payments would be made from the proceeds of Heritage Bank’s asset liquidation and debt recovery efforts.
Additionally, Hassan noted that the creditors of Heritage Bank would receive payments once all depositors have been reimbursed.
The CBN revoked Heritage Bank’s license in June 2024, and the NDIC was appointed as the liquidator to manage the bank’s dissolution.
The NDIC is working diligently to settle the claims of uninsured depositors as part of the liquidation process.
In his remarks, Bashir Nuhu, the Director of Communication and Public Affairs at the NDIC, said the 2024 Editors Forum, themed “Strengthening Nigeria’s Financial Safety-Net: The Role of Deposit Insurance,” served as an important platform for educating participants on the vital role the NDIC plays in safeguarding the financial system.
