The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has paid Heritage Bank depositors the maximum insured deposit of N5 million. According to the Corporation, the payment of the N5 million insured deposit to the depositors was achieved within a record time of four days of the bank’s closure.
In a statement issued last Sunday and signed by the Corporation’s Director, Communicationand Public Affairs, Bashir Nuhu, NDIC says the payment of the insured deposits to the depositors of Heritage Bank in record time of four days was achieved using Bank Verification Number (BVN) as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks. According to the statement, depositors with balances exceeding Five Million Naira have been paid the initial insured sum of N5 million, while the remaining balances (classified as uninsured deposits) will be paid as liquidation dividends upon realisation of the defunct bank’s assets and recovery of debts owed to the bank.
The statement added that “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”.
The Corporation says 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, while 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. However, the NDIC says these categories of depositors are being contacted through telephone calls and text messages to come forward for verification.
The NDIC added that “notwithstanding the significant progress recorded in the payment of the insured deposits, we are however, not unmindful of the uninsured deposits which constitute the larger portion of the total deposits of the defunct bank. 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”, the NDIC says, “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. We will like to reiterate that, all payments other than that of insured deposits, are subject to availability and realisation of assets of the bank in the form of liquidation dividend”.