At least 82.36 per cent of the total customers of the defunct Heritage Bank has gotten the disbursement of ₦5 million each, which serves as their insured deposits, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation says.
Recall that on June 3, 2024, the banking license of Heritage Bank Plc was revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria, due to persistent financial instability and regulatory breaches, a decision that is in line with the CBN’s mandate under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020, which aims to maintain a stable financial system in Nigeria.
Following the withdrawal of the Bank’s licence, the NDIC had stated that it would begin payment of the 2.3 million depositors of the bank.
In a statement signed by the Director, Communication and Public Affairs, Bashir Nuhu, on Sunday in Abuja, the Corporation also noted that the pending 17.64 per cent of the insured deposits belong to depositors with accounts that have Post-No Debits instructions or lack a Bank Verification Number.
The director also disclosed that disbursement to affected customers started four days after the liquidation, and that the feat was achieved using Bank Verification Numbers as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks.
The statement reads: “In the discharge of its deposit guarantee mandate, the Corporation began the payment of the insured deposits of N5m maximum per depositor within a record time of four days of the bank closure.
“This was achieved using Bank Verification Numbers as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks.”
The statement added that the “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 per cent of the total insured deposit to date.
“It is instructive to state that, the remaining 17.64 per cent of the insured deposits yet to be paid were largely depositors whose accounts have post no debits instructions or have no BVN. Others are those with no alternative accounts in other banks or accounts with a KYC limit on the maximum lodgment per day and are yet to come forward for verification.
“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.”
Comments
Post a Comment