The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced that the first tranche of liquidation dividends for uninsured depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank will be declared in April 2025.
This was revealed in a press statement issued on Sunday by the Acting Head of Communication & Public Affairs, Hawwau Gambo.
According to the statement, the liquidation dividends will be paid to uninsured depositors on a pro-rata basis, in line with Section 72 of the NDIC Act 2023, which prioritizes the settlement of deposit liabilities when an insured institution fails. The payment follows the considerable progress made in realizing the bank's assets and recovering debts.
“With the considerable progress recorded in the asset realization, the Corporation will declare the first tranche of liquidation dividends in April 2025, which will be paid to uninsured depositors on a pro-rata basis,” the statement read.
Heritage Bank’s banking license was revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria on June 3, 2024. The NDIC was appointed as the liquidator, tasked with verifying and reimbursing insured deposits to affected depositors. Significant progress has been made in reimbursing insured deposits, which are capped at N5 million per depositor.
However, the NDIC has encountered challenges in disbursing payments to some depositors. These include issues such as the absence of Bank Verification Numbers, post-no-debit restrictions, mismatches in account names, and Know Your Customer limitations. Some depositors may also not be aware of their reimbursement due to the absence of mobile transaction alerts linked to alternate bank accounts.
The NDIC emphasized that depositors with balances exceeding N5 million have already received the insured portion of their funds. The remaining balance, which exceeds the insurance limit, will be paid as liquidation dividends. The NDIC has been aggressively pursuing the sale of Heritage Bank’s assets and recovering its debts to generate funds for these payments.
The NDIC's approach continues to involve the simultaneous reimbursement of insured depositors while actively working on asset realization and debt recovery.
