82.36 percent of the customers of the now-defunct Heritage Bank have received N5 million in protected deposits, according to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The report also mentioned that the majority of the insured deposits (17.64 percent) that are still unpaid are from depositors whose accounts have Post-No Debits instructions or do not have a Bank Verification Number.
This was revealed on Sunday in Abuja in a statement that was signed by Bashir Nuhu, Director of Communication and Public Affairs.
Heritage Bank Plc’s banking licence was revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria on June 3, 2024, as a result of ongoing financial instability and regulatory violations.
The CBN’s mandate under Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020, which strives to ensure a stable financial system in Nigeria, is in keeping with the decision, according to the apex bank.
The NDIC said that it would start paying the bank’s 2.3 million depositors once Heritage Bank’s licence was revoked.
In the statement released on Sunday, the director provided an update, revealing that four days following the liquidation, payments to the impacted clients began.
Bank Verification Numbers, he continued, were used as a special identification to find depositors’ other accounts in other banks in order to accomplish this accomplishment.
A part of the announcement said, “Within a record-breaking four days following the bank shutdown, the Corporation started paying protected deposits, up to a maximum of N5 million per depositor, in fulfilment of its deposit guarantee mandate.
“This was achieved using Bank Verification Numbers as a unique identifier to locate depositors’ alternate accounts in other banks.
“This 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.”
The director informed depositors holding more than N5 million that, upon the realisation of the bank’s assets and the collection of debts owed to it, the remaining amounts—which are categorised as uninsured deposits—would be distributed as liquidation dividends.
“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,” the statement added.
