Depositors of failed banks recovered N113.2bn through NDIC

By Motolani Oseni

Depositors of all liquidated banks have recovered no less than N113.2 billion of their savings through the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in the country, as of June 2022.

While a sum of N11.83 billion was paid to over 443,949 insured depositors by the corporation, uninsured ones got N101.37 billion.

Speaking on this development at the ongoing seminar for finance correspondents and editors themed ‘Boosting Depositors’ Confidence Amidst Emerging Issues and Challenges in the Banking System,’ organised by NDIC, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State yesterday, the managing director and chief executive of the NDIC, Mr Hassan Bello, said, despite the amount paid by the corporation over the years, it has enough fund to continue to pay off depositors of failed banks in the country.

Noting that the NDIC bank liquidation mandate entails reimbursement of insured and uninsured depositors, creditors, and shareholders of banks in liquidation, he said, the corporation’s liquidation activities, as of June 30, 2022, covered a total of 467 insured financial institutions in liquidation, comprising of 49 deposit money banks, 367 microfinance banks, and 51 primary mortgage banks.

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“Out of the 49 DMBs in liquidation, the corporation in September 2022 declared 100 per cent liquidation dividend in 20 of those institutions, meaning that the Corporation has realized enough funds from their assets to fully pay all depositors of the listed banks,” he added.

As of June 30, 2022, the NDIC provided deposit insurance coverage to a total of 981 insured financial institutions.

A breakdown shows that the covered institutions include 33 DMBs made up of 24 Commercial Banks, six Merchant Banks and three Non-Interest Banks (NIBs) plus two Non-Interest Windows; 882 Microfinance Banks (MFBs); 34 Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs); three Payment Service Banks (PSBs) and 29 Mobile Money Operators.

The NDIC boss stressed the corporation’s determination to scale up the deposit insurance framework; provision timely support to insured institutions as and when required; ensure faster and orderly resolutions of liquidated insured institutions; as well as to continue to assist CBN in promoting the stability of the banking system.

To him, “over time, we have embarked on a series of strategic initiatives to achieve our desired vision. In the area of scaling up the deposit insurance framework and ensuring faster and orderly resolutions of liquidated insured institutions, in May this year, with the active participation of the relevant stakeholders, we developed and deployed the Single Customer View (SCV) platform for the Microfinance and Primary Mortgage Banks in order to strengthen our processes and procedure for data collection.

“The platform would not only ensure availability of quality, timely and complete data to the NDIC but would eliminate delays often experienced in reimbursing depositors following revocation of institutions’ licenses by the CBN.
“The final phase of the implementation of the SCV for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) will be achieved through the incorporation of the SCV template as part of the ongoing Integrated Regulatory Solution (IRS) jointly being developed with the CBN.”

Commenting on the theme of the seminar, he said, the fact that the global banking landscape has continued to be defined and challenged by technological disruptions, innovations, and novelties, cannot be overemphasised.

“This reality has not only put a demand on regulators and supervisors in the sector across the world to enhance surveillance, but it has also called for stronger collaborations, in order to deliver services that are laced with constantly improved values to the banking public and the society at large,” he stressed.

Similarly, Mr. Michael Oladele of the Bank Examination Department, NDIC, warned Nigerians to beware of Ponzi schemes that promise mouth-watering interest in a bid to dupe the unsuspecting public.

Stating that the corporation is working with other regulatory and enforcement bodies to bring those culpable to justice, he added that, people must also be vigilant not to fall prey.

While urging Nigerians to conduct due diligence on whichever scheme they want to invest or subscribe to, he advised people to moderate their personal risks appetite, and seek advisers before joining any scheme even as he appealed to people to only save their monies in NDIC insured institutions across the country.