The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has commenced payment of ₦46.6 billion as the first tranche of liquidation dividends to depositors of the defunct Heritage Banks with funds above the insured limit, reports thegazellenews.com
The Acting Head of Communication & Public Affairs, Hawwau Gambo, who made this disclosure in a statement, said the move is to ensure that depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank are fully reimbursed.
According to Gambo, the NDIC has declared the first tranche of liquidation dividends totalling ₦46.6 billion from the proceeds of sales of the defunct bank’s assets and recovery of debts owed to the defunct institution.
‘‘A liquidation dividend represents the amount paid by the Corporation to depositors of a closed bank, in excess of the maximum insured limit, from the proceeds of sales of assets and recovery from the debtors of the failed bank, the statement explained.
‘‘It also includes amounts paid to creditors and shareholders after all depositors have been fully paid.
‘‘The payment of the first tranche of the liquidation dividends commenced on Friday, April 25, 2025. This initial dividend payment was at the rate of 9.2 kobo per Naira on a pro-rata basis to the depositors whose account balances exceeded the NDIC’s maximum insured limit of ₦5.0 million at the time of the bank’s closure.
Following the revocation of Heritage Bank’s operating license by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on June 3, 2024, the NDIC began reimbursing insured deposits of up to N5 million per depositor.
The NDIC, had, used the depositors’ Bank Verification Number, BVN, to locate alternative account numbers of depositors in other banks to ensure a seamless and efficient payment process and automatically credited them with the insured amount.
The statement said the Corporation leveraged the existing records used in the payment of the insured amount to facilitate the disbursement of the first tranche of liquidation dividends.
The NDIC also advised any depositor with an amount in excess of N5.0 million who was paid the insured amount but did not receive the payment of the liquidation dividends to approach the nearest NDIC office or contact the office by phone.
It also advised ‘‘depositors of the defunct banks who do not maintain alternative bank accounts and were not paid the insured amount to visit the nearest NDIC office or the claims page on the Corporation’s website to submit a deposit verification form for the payment of the insured amount and where applicable, the first tranche of their liquidation dividends’’.
