NDIC To Set to Commence Payment Of Heritage Bank Depositors By April

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced that it will commence payments in April 2025 to depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank who held balances exceeding the insured limit of N5 million.

This follows significant progress in the liquidation process after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the bank’s license on June 3, 2024. The NDIC had earlier initiated the verification and payment of insured deposits while also working on asset disposal to settle uninsured depositors, creditors, and shareholders.

Hawwau Gambo, Acting Director of Communications and Public Affairs at NDIC, confirmed that depositors with balances above N5 million have already received the insured sum of N5 million. The remaining funds will be paid as liquidation dividends, in line with the corporation’s statutory mandate.

She further stated that substantial progress has been made in disposing of the bank’s physical assets and recovering outstanding debts to ensure depositors receive their funds as soon as possible. The NDIC has actively pursued asset realization and debt recovery while ensuring transparency by publicizing the disposal process on its website, social media platforms, and national media outlets.

The NDIC’s approach involves simultaneously paying insured depositors and aggressively recovering funds to accelerate the liquidation process. The first tranche of liquidation dividends for uninsured depositors will be paid on a pro-rata basis in April 2025, in accordance with Section 72 of the NDIC Act 2023, which prioritizes deposit liabilities over other claims.

Gambo emphasized that, as per the NDIC Act, the assets of the failed bank will first be used to settle deposit liabilities before any payments are made to creditors and shareholders. Consequently, other claimants will only be considered for payment after all depositors have been fully reimbursed.