NDIC Pays N5m Each to 82.36% of Defunct Heritage Bank Customers

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has disbursed N5 million each to 82.36% of the total customers of the defunct Heritage Bank. This move comes after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the banking license of Heritage Bank Plc due to persistent financial instability and regulatory breaches.

According to a statement signed by the Director, Communication and Public Affairs, Bashir Nuhu, the NDIC began payment of the insured deposits four days after the liquidation. The corporation used Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks.

The statement read in part, “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.”

The NDIC noted that 17.64% of the insured deposits still pending payment mainly belong to depositors with accounts that have Post-No Debits instructions or lack a Bank Verification Number.

For depositors with more than N5m, 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.