NDIC pays over N106 billion to Heritage Bank customers

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced that it paid more than N106 billion to customers of the defunct Heritage Bank Limited. They also assured those with unresolved claims that payments are still happening.

In a statement on Wednesday, the corporation acknowledged the struggles faced by some former depositors of Heritage Bank and expressed sympathy for them.

NDIC confirmed its commitment to making sure that all eligible depositors get their money according to the NDIC Act, 2023.

On June 3, 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked Heritage Bank’s license. This was due to the bank’s ongoing financial problems, poor performance, and a violation of Section 12(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.

The corporation stated that it started paying depositors of the closed bank within four days of the license revocation.

“NDIC has paid over N55 billion in insured deposits, which includes accounts with balances of N5 million and below,” the statement said.

“Additionally, N51 billion was made from selling the assets of the failed bank and recovering debts. This amount has been paid out as liquidation dividends in two parts,” NDIC added.

However, the corporation explained that some payments are still unresolved. This is due to issues like missing Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), lack of alternative bank accounts, Post No Debit (PND) restrictions, Know Your Customer (KYC) issues, and mismatched names.

“The NDIC is working with relevant parties and some affected depositors to sort out these issues,” it noted.

The corporation encouraged depositors who have not yet received their payments to report their issues through the NDIC Helpdesk portal. They stressed that the payment process is still ongoing.