The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says 82.36% of the total insured depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank have been reimbursed since the revocation of the bank’s licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3, 2024.
Consequently, the Corporation said 17.64 percent of the insured deposits are yet to be paid over two months after the liquidation, citing lack of Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and instructions, among others.
In a statement on Sunday, Bashir Nuhu, NDIC spokesman claimed that the 17.64 percent of the unspecified insured deposits yet to be paid were largely depositors whose accounts have post no debits (PND) instructions or BVN, adding that NDIC began the payment of the insured deposits of N5m maximum per depositor within a record time of four days of the bank closure.
Nuhu noted that the action of the Corporation, without the usual practice of subjecting depositors to visit their offices as an “unprecedented achievement of direct payment through BVN-linked alternate accounts.”
But some stakeholders, including customers of the defunct bank and analysts have expressed disgust at the claimed achievements of what the Corporation was established to do in the first place.
They wonder, how. Corporation, which is wholly funded by tax payers would turn around to praise itself for its constitutional responsibilities.
According to them, the development has exposed the Corporation whose activities they claim are inefficient, laborious and as well bogged down by bureaucratic tendencies.
“With poor records of payments to depositors of defunct banks over the years, the Corporation should rather strive to improve on it services and save the poor depositors who have been subjected to untold hardships,” says an analyst who pleaded for anonymity.
According to a man who claimed to be a customer of the bank, “the fact that the statement did not give exact figure of total depositors may have confirmed our complaints over the years about the fact that the corporation is run like a typical government ministry where business is still as usual and issues are not treated with the needed urgency and professionalism.”
Others have also complained about getting information about activities of the corporation either through their personnel or website as frustrating.
The spokesman of the Corporation, in the statement said,
“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 partly read.
“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% of the total insured deposit to date.
“It is instructive to state that, the remaining 17.64% of the insured deposits yet to be paid were largely depositors whose accounts have post no debits (PND) instructions or have no BVN.
“Others are those with no alternative accounts in other banks or accounts with KYC limit on the maximum lodgment per day and are yet to come forward for verification.
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“These category of depositors are presently being contacted by the Corporation through telephone calls and text messages to come forward for verification.”
“In this regard, the Corporation is already working assiduously to ensure that all depositors with amounts in excess of the maximum insured amount of N5 million are timely paid through liquidation dividend from realisation of the defunct bank’s assets.
“The Corporation has already initiated the process of debt recovery and realisation of investments and physical assets of the defunct bank to ensure timely reimbursement of the uninsured depositors of the defunct bank.
“Subsequently, after the full payment of both insured and uninsured portion of deposits, the Corporation will proceed with the payment of creditors in accordance with priority of claim as provided in the extant law.”
