The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has commenced the payment of insured deposits to customers of 46 failed microfinance banks whose operating licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NDIC, Thompson Sunday, disclosed this on Wednesday in Lagos during a retreat for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters.
Sunday said the corporation moved quickly to begin the liquidation process after the CBN revoked the licences of the affected microfinance banks and appointed the NDIC as provisional liquidator.
“We’ve started paying depositors of those banks, and gradually, we intend to cover all the insured depositors,” he said.
He explained that the NDIC is also pursuing debtors of the failed banks and disposing of their assets to generate funds for the payment of uninsured deposits.
“Our function as liquidator involves paying the guaranteed sums. Thereafter, we go after those owing the institutions and ensure that available assets are sold to realise funds for settling the uninsured portions of deposits,” Sunday stated.
According to him, the corporation has upgraded its reimbursement process through a partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), enabling automatic payments to depositors using their Bank Verification Number (BVN).
Under the arrangement, depositors whose BVNs are linked to accounts in other banks receive their insured funds directly without the need to submit claims, significantly reducing delays in accessing their money.
Sunday said the same payment system has also accelerated reimbursements to depositors of Heritage Bank, with about 700,000 customers already receiving their insured deposits since the bank’s operating licence was revoked.
However, he noted that some Heritage Bank depositors have yet to be identified because the lender inherited customer accounts from legacy institutions, including Enterprise Bank, Spring Bank and Guardian Express Bank, many of which existed before the introduction of the BVN system.
“There are depositors that we have not been able to trace, and this is an opportunity for them to come forward. Once they do, we will pay them,” he said.
Sunday added that funds realised from loan recoveries and the sale of assets belonging to failed banks would be used to compensate depositors whose account balances exceed the insured deposit limit.
He also said the ongoing recapitalisation of Nigeria’s banking sector has strengthened the financial capacity of banks to support economic growth.
According to him, stronger capital alone is not enough to guarantee financial stability, stressing that effective supervision, sound corporate governance and robust risk management remain essential for maintaining a resilient banking system.
