Determined to ensure transparency in the county’s banking sector, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced the disbursement of more than N1.7 billion to customers affected by the revocation of licenses of Microfinance Banks (MFBs) and four Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs).
By Ademu Usman Idakwo
Speaking at the 2023 NDIC Editors Forum in Lagos, Mr Bello Hassan, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NDIC, disclosed that the payments were made following the withdrawal of licenses by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) earlier this year from 183 financial institutions mainly the Microfinance and Primary Mortgage Banks.
“We quickly advertised and informed affected depositors to provide the required documents for verification so that we can pay them the insured amount,” Hassan stated.
The payments, totalling over N1.7 billion to more than 22,000 customers, have been made, but Hassan urged customers without a Bank Verification Number (BVN) attached to their accounts to come forward for verification and to claim their insured amounts.
He disclosed that the insured deposits are from the initial claim paid to depositors by NDIC in the event of a bank’s license revocation, with set limits of N200,000 and N500,000 per depositor per bank for the MFB and PMB sub-sectors, respectively.
He said the importance of the Deposit Insurance System is to minimise bank risks and failures through strict banking supervision, reimbursement of insured depositors, and orderly liquidation of failed banks.
He explained that NDIC’s operations complement the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria in maintaining a secure and stable banking system and supporting fiscal authorities in preserving stability within the broader financial system, which is very necessary for economic growth and development.
The Managing Director admitted the challenges faced by NDIC, attributing them to macroeconomic factors which are very peculiar in the financial services industry.
He expressed the determination of NDIC to align with CBN’s initiatives in strengthening the banking industry by enhancing prudence as well as ensuring regulatory measures.
