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Says only 4,000 out of 2.3m customers have deposits above N5m
The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has commenced the process of paying depositors of the now liquidated Heritage Bank.
Bello Hassan, managing director of NDIC, made the announcement in Abuja on Wednesday during a press conference while assuring depositors of their payments in the next seven days.
Daily Trust reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday revoked the operational licence of Heritage Bank following the bank’s “inability to improve its financial performance.”
Subsequently, the NDIC was appointed as the liquidator for Heritage Bank.
Speaking at the briefing, Hassan said payment to the insured depositors is expected to be done by the Corporation within 30 days of being appointed liquidator, according to Section 28 of the NDIC Act.
“We are already in the process of payment settlement for insured customers within one week, as our preliminary findings have shown that the total bank deposits at Heritage Bank stands at N650 billion while its loan portfolio is around N700 billion.
“Also, the bank’s total depositors are currently 2.3 million, out of which 99 percent of them maintain a total balance of less than N5 million which is within the threshold that NDIC insures for depositors.
“We are here to assure them that they will get all their money back as our findings have shown that only about 4,000 people had more than N5m in their accounts,” he explained.
Responding to enquiries on the fate of customers with deposits above N5m, Bello stated that “They will get N5m now and the balance will come later when the NDIC gets more money from the bank’s assets and loans and I can assure you that all the payments will commence this week for the insured deposits.
“All depositors are currently being verified for onward payment of insured benefit of N5m while depositors with insured deposits above N5m will be paid upon the sale of Heritage Bank’s assets,” he added
The MD also revealed that the Corporation is working to ensure that loan repayment is completed within the next six months, while highlighting that there are about 116 branches of Heritage Bank across the country and creditors will be paid when the assets of the bank are sold.
