The Managing Director of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mr. Hassan Bello, has stated that the organization is facing challenges with the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) of Heritage Bank’s corporate customers.
However, he disclosed that the NDIC has started paying the insured amount to the bank’s depositors.
He said: “As you know, the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked the licence of Heritage Bank Limited in June and it was handed over to the NDIC for liquidation.
“The NDIC has already taken over the assets of the bank with the readiness to pay all the claimants – the depositors and creditors as specified by the law.
“We have commenced the payment of insured amount as early as June 6 and is currently ongoing. We have paid especially customers with BVN linked to their accounts.
“The little challenge we are experiencing is with corporate customers who are unable to use the BVN attached to their accounts because in most cases, the BVN attached is the BVN of the directors, and in most cases when you use that BVN to search, what you see is not the account of the corporate customer but the account of that director.
“So, it’s on this basis that we are urging those corporate customers to come forward and visit any of the NDIC offices nationwide so that they can complete the verification form or in the alternative, they can visit the corporation’s website, download the form, complete and submit it so that we can process your insured amount and pay.
“After that, we will continue with the payment of liquidation dividend, which is over and above the insured amount. We have already set the process in motion and we have already advertised for valuers that will value the assets and chattels of the bank so that we can realise them to begin the payment of the uninsured depositors accordingly.”
As he mentioned, the NDIC’s mandate includes deposit insurance, bank oversight, failure resolution, and bank liquidation.
These responsibilities, he clarified, are designed to bolster depositors’ trust in the market, thereby fostering financial system stability.
Reflecting on this role, he noted that in April this year, the NDIC increased the maximum deposit insurance coverage levels. This adjustment, he added, was intended to inspire confidence within the banking sector and support financial system stability.
He spoke on crypto assets, which he described as real and had come to stay.
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