Abuja: The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced plans to declare the first tranche of liquidation dividends from the asset realisation of the defunct Heritage Bank in April. This initiative will pave the way for the payment to uninsured depositors whose balances exceed the maximum deposit insurance limit of N5 million.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Acting Head of Communication and Public Affairs of NDIC, Hawwau Gambo, stated that the payments would be made on a pro-rata basis, in accordance with Section 72 of the NDIC Act 2023 concerning the priority of claims. Gambo explained that the NDIC is addressing concerns raised by depositors of the defunct bank, emphasizing the corporation’s commitment to ensuring timely payments.
Gambo highlighted that the referenced section of the Act stipulates that when an insured institution cannot fulfill its obligations or has its management taken over by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following license revocation, the institution’s assets should be used to meet its deposit liabilities. These deposit liabilities are prioritized over all other liabilities of the institution.
The NDIC has made significant strides in liquidating the physical assets and recovering debts of the failed bank to ensure that depositors with balances above the insured limit receive their payments promptly. The corporation has been actively working on realising physical assets and investments while aggressively recovering risk assets, alongside the verification and payment of insured sums. Other claimants, including creditors and shareholders, will only receive liquidation dividends once all depositors are fully reimbursed.
Regarding depositors who have yet to receive their insured deposits, Gambo noted that those without a Bank Verification Number (BVN) or alternate accounts in other banks are affected. Additionally, accounts under post no debit (PND) restrictions and those with Know Your Customer (KYC) limitations, such as Tier 1 accounts, face payment delays. Some accounts also have name mismatches requiring resolution.
Gambo further mentioned that some depositors might be unaware of receiving payments due to the absence of mobile phone transaction alerts on their alternate accounts. Deposit holders are thus advised to check their alternate bank accounts, as some payments might have been processed without their immediate knowledge.