NDIC has announced that the first tranche of liquidation dividends for uninsured depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank will be declared in April 2025.
The disclosure was made in a press statement released by Hawwau Gambo, the Acting Head of Communication & Public Affairs, NDIC, on Sunday and according to the statement, the declaration of the first tranche of liquidation dividends in April will be followed by the payment to uninsured depositors.
This development follows notable progress in the realisation of the bank’s assets and recovery of its debts while the payment will be made pro-rata, prioritising depositors’ claims as stipulated in Section 72 of the NDIC Act 2023.
The bank’s licence was revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria on June 3, 2024 and as a result, NDIC took over the liquidation process, handling deposit verification and payouts to affected depositors, as outlined in the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 and NDIC Act 2023.
The corporation noted that it has made significant progress in reimbursing insured deposits, which are capped at a maximum of N5m per depositor. However, it said some depositors have not received their insured amounts due to various reasons.
The Corporation identified some of the challenges as the absence of Bank Verification Numbers or alternate accounts in other banks, which are essential for retrieving account details from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System database.
Other challenges include post-no-debit restrictions on some accounts, Know Your Customer limitations, particularly on Tier 1 accounts that restrict the maximum lodgement of funds, and mismatches in account names, according to the statement.
NDIC urges depositors to verify accounts as some payments go unnoticed as such the corporation advises depositors to check their alternate bank accounts, as payments may have been processed without mobile transaction alerts.
However, depositors with balances over N5 million have received insured amounts; remaining balances will be paid as liquidation dividends because funds for these payments are generated from selling of Heritage Bank’s physical assets and recovering risk assets.
The Corporation has taken a transparent approach in disposing of assets, advertising the process on its official website, social media platforms, major national newspapers, through radio and television announcements and in distributing liquidation dividends, the Corporation will strictly follow Section 72 of the NDIC Act 2023.
This means that the assets of the failed Heritage Bank will first be used to reimburse depositors. Only after all depositors have received their payments will other creditors and shareholders be considered for dividend payments.
The NDIC has reassured the public of its commitment to protecting depositors’ funds across all licensed banks. It has urged the public to continue banking with confidence, as all other licensed banks remain safe and sound. To facilitate timely payments, the NDIC encourages affected depositors to verify their account details and resolve any discrepancies.
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