NDIC pays 82.36% of Heritage Bank depositors

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has paid 82.36 per cent of depositors with above N5 million as insured sum in the defunct Heritage Bank.

The Director of Communication and Public Affairs, Mr Bashir Nuhu, in a statement on Sunday, said that the step underscored the corporation’s commitment to safeguarding depositors’ funds.

Nuhu noted that payments commenced within four days of the bank’s closure.

According to him, the direct payment method marked a historic shift in the NDIC’s approach to reimbursing depositors promptly.

He said that while the majority of insured deposits had been paid, the NDIC was working to reach the remaining 17.64 per cent of insured depositors.

He noted that many of the remaining depositors had accounts with post-no-debit instructions, lacked BVN, or had no alternative accounts.

According to him, the corporation is actively engaging these depositors through phone calls and text messages.

The spokesman acknowledged the challenges posed by unpaid uninsured deposits, which represent a larger portion of the total deposits.

Nuhu assured the public that the NDIC was working to recover assets and debts to facilitate payments to the depositors through liquidation dividends.

The director said that once all insured and uninsured deposits were settled, NDIC would proceed with payments to creditors according to legal priority.

He reaffirmed the corporation’s dedication to protecting depositors’ funds and urged the public to continue banking confidently.