NDIC to pay Heritage Bank customers within one week

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has assured depositors of Heritage Bank it will pay their deposits within one week. 

The Managing Director of NDIC, Bello Hassan,  stated this at a briefing where he outlined the processes of repayment, insisting that the corporation will not take 30 days as stipulated by law but will settle customers within one week.

Hassan said the total bank deposits at heritage bank stands at N650 billion while it’s loan portfolio stands at over N700 billion. He stated that the NDIC looks forward to ensuring the loan repayment within the next six months.

The NDIC MD said that all depositors are currently being verified for onward payment of insured benefit of five N5 million while depositors with insured deposits above N5 million naira will be paid upon the sale of the assets of bank. He put the total depositors at the bank at 2.3 million with 99 per cent of them having total balances less than five million naira.

Recall that on June 4, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the banking Licence of Heritage Bank following the bank’s inability to improve its financial performance.

“The Board and Management of the bank have not been able to improve the bank’s financial performance, a situation which constitutes a threat to financial stability” the CBN said

However, the apex said Heritage Bank had not improved and “has no reasonable prospects of recovery”, thereby making revoking the Licence the next necessary step.

A spokesperson for the NDIC, Bashir Nuhu, in a statement released on Tuesday, May 4, assured depositors with an insured amount of ₦5 million that they would get their money through alternate banks.

“Depositors of the bank with alternate accounts within the industry will be paid up to the insured amount of ₦5 million per depositor using their Bank Verification Number (BVN) to locate their alternate account.

While depositors with funds above ₦5 million will be paid liquidation dividend upon realisation of the bank’s assets and recovery of debts owed to the bank,” the statement partly read

Step-To-Step Process To Reclaim Funds

All depositors of the defunct bank without alternate bank account in the industry are advised as follows:

1. Visit the nearest branch of the bank with proof of account ownership, verifiable means of identification such as driver’s license, permanent voter’s card, National Identity Card, together with their alternate account and Bank Verification Number (BVN) for the verification of their deposits and subsequent payment of insured sums.

Or

II. File online claims by visiting the NDIC website claims page on www.ndic.gov.ng/claims/claims, download and fill the claims forms and upload the required documentation.

2. Verification and Payment of Creditors. Creditors are advised to visit the nearest branch of the bank to file their claims or via the online platform. Please note that the process of payment of creditors will commence immediately after all depositors have been paid.

3. Debtors’ Repayment of Loans: Debtors who have yet to repay loans are advised to contact the Corporation’s Asset Management Department (AMD). Visit the NDIC website for more details.

“The NDIC wishes to assure the entire banking public of its commitment to the continued safety of depositors’ funds in all licensed banks. As such, depositors are urged to continue their banking businesses without fear as banks whose licenses have not been revoked remain safe and sound,” the statement concluded.