The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has commenced reimbursement of depositors affected by the closure of 46 microfinance banks across the country. More than 700,000 former customers of Heritage Bank have already received their insured deposits through Bank Verification Number-linked accounts.
NDIC Managing Director and Chief Executive Oludare Sunday confirmed the development on Wednesday during a retreat for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters in Lagos. He said the payment process is ongoing and will gradually extend to all eligible customers of the failed institutions.
CBN Revocation and Liquidation Process
The banks’ operating licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which appointed the NDIC as provisional liquidator. Sunday stated that payments have already started. “We have started paying depositors of those banks, and gradually we intend to cover all the insured depositors,” he said.
Beyond settling insured balances, the Corporation is intensifying efforts to recover outstanding loans owed to the failed banks and is disposing of their assets and investments. Proceeds from these recoveries will be used to pay depositors whose balances exceed the insured limit through liquidation dividends.
“Our responsibility does not end with paying the guaranteed deposits. We also recover debts, sell available assets and use the proceeds to pay uninsured depositors,” Sunday explained.
BVN System Aids Customer Location
The NDIC is working with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System to identify depositors through their Bank Verification Numbers. Payments are credited automatically once eligible customers are successfully traced. Additional payments will follow as more records are verified.
On Heritage Bank specifically, Sunday disclosed that about 700,000 depositors have already been paid. Some former customers remain difficult to locate because many accounts were opened before the BVN system was introduced, while others have incomplete or outdated contact details.
He urged anyone who previously held an account with Heritage Bank but has not yet received payment to come forward for verification. In some cases, records contained only vague addresses, making it impossible to reach customers without their cooperation.
Broader Deposit Protection
The NDIC said more than 98 per cent of depositors, covering over 281 million accounts across insured financial institutions, are fully protected under its deposit insurance scheme. For customers of the closed banks, the key steps are to ensure that BVN-linked records are accurate and to await the verification process. Eligible depositors will continue to receive compensation whenever insured banks fail.
