The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it would begin the payment of the first tranche of liquidation dividends to depositors of Heritage Bank from April.

It would be recalled that Heritage Bank operating licence was revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3, 2024.

The Managing  Director of NDIC, Mr Bello Hassan, said this on Wednesday at the NDIC Special Day at the ongoing 36th Enugu  International Trade.

Represented by Mrs Pamela Robert, South-East Coordinator of NDIC, Hassan said that NDIC was in collaboration with the CBN to maintain stability in the banking sector, enforce compliance with banking regulations and exercise effective oversight over insured deposit-taking institutions.

According to him, NDIC have commenced preparations to pay the first tranche of liquidation dividends this month of April.

“I wish to reassure all depositors that the NDIC has the financial and operational capacity to fully reimburse all depositors as recoveries are made,” he said.

Hassan said that the approach of paying insured deposits while concurrently realising assets and recovering loans ensured that no depositor was left behind.

The managing director emphasised that as more recoveries were made, subsequent tranches of liquidation dividends would follow.

“Our record in bank liquidation is reassuring. NDIC has successfully declared fully liquidation dividends to depositors of 20 previously failed banks.

“This reflects our unwavering commitment to depositor protection and our proven capacity to manage bank failures effectively.

“Therefore, I urge depositors of closed banks, particularly Heritage Bank, who have not yet received their payments, to come forward and provide necessary documentation supporting ownership of the account.

These, he said, included the Bank Verification Number (BVN), and alternate bank account number for payment of the insured sum.

“Claims can be submitted through our website, email, social media platforms, or by visiting any of our Zonal Offices,” he said.

He said that the NDIC had consistently played a crucial role in maintaining financial stability by ensuring depositors receive prompt compensation when banks failed.

“A recent example is the revocation of Heritage Bank’s operating license by the CBN.

“In line with its statutory mandate, the Corporation immediately began liquidation process, including verification and payment of insured deposits of up to a maximum of ₦5 million per depositor within four days.

“This swift action has enabled the payment of insured amounts to the majority of the bank’s depositors using their BVN as a unique identifier to locate their alternate accounts for payment.

“Those yet to be paid are largely depositors without BVNs or alternate accounts in other banks, or those with Post-No-Debit (PND) restrictions.

“Some accounts also have KYC issues, such as Tier 1 limits or name mismatches, while a few depositors may be unaware that payments have been made due to lack of transaction alerts on the alternate accounts,” he added.

Chief Odeiga Jideonwo, the President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) commended  NDIC for its operations.

The president however, called on the corporation to improve on its level of compensation paid to depositors when banks went under.

“It is indeed a big challenge and we hope that the NDIC would increase the percentage of money paid to depositors depending on the total amount of deposit each customer has in the bank,” Jideonwo said.

He also pleaded that the CBN through its regulatory framework should make the work of NDIC easier by ensuring that chances of bank failure was reduced to the barest minimum and guard against depositors going through this negative experience. (NAN)