The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has identified discrepancies in account names linked to the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) of some former Heritage Bank customers as the primary cause for delays in the payment of their insured deposits.
During an announcement in Abuja on Sunday, NDIC Managing Director, Mr. Bello Hassan, clarified that the corporation had already disbursed a significant portion of insured deposits to customers without BVN-related issues.
“We began the payment process on June 6 and have successfully transferred substantial funds to numerous customers,” Hassan stated. “Using customers’ BVNs, we track alternate accounts in other banks to facilitate these payments.”
However, Hassan pointed out that discrepancies between account names on alternate accounts and the BVNs of some customers have caused complications. He urged affected customers to visit the NDIC website to complete the necessary verification forms to expedite their payments.
“We encourage customers who haven’t received their payments due to these discrepancies to come forward and complete their verification forms so we can process their refunds,” he emphasized.
Regarding depositors with balances exceeding five million naira, Hassan explained that these payments would come from liquidation dividends. NDIC has started the process of liquidating Heritage Bank’s physical assets and recovering outstanding loans to generate funds for these larger deposits.
“As we recover assets and loans, we will periodically announce the availability of liquidation dividends, allowing eligible depositors to receive alerts for payments into their accounts,” Hassan said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked Heritage Bank Plc’s banking license on June 3, 2024. This action was taken due to the bank’s inability to improve its financial performance, which posed a significant risk to financial stability. The NDIC has since stepped in to manage the insured deposit refunds and liquidation process.
