Following the revocation of the banking license of Heritage Bank Plc by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) today and the appointment of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) as the Liquidator, pursuant to Section 12(2) of BOFIA, 2020, the Corporation has announced to depositors of the bank in particular and the banking public in general of the commencement process of the bank’s liquidation.
The corporation, in a statement issued by its Director Communication & Public Affairs, Bashir Nuhu, stated that the liquidation process of the failed bank with immediate verification and payment of insured deposits to the bank depositors was in accordance with Section 55 sub-section 1 & 2 of the NDIC Act 2023, the Corporation has commenced.
According to the NDIC, depositors of the bank that have alternate account within the industry will be paid up to the insured amount of N5 million per depositor using their Bank Verification Number (BVN) to locate their alternate account while depositors with funds in excess of N5 million will be paid liquidation dividend upon realization of the bank’s assets and recovery of debts owed to the bank.
To ensure a seamless liquidation process, it advised all depositors of the defunct bank without alternate bank account in the industry to visit the nearest branch of the bank with proof of account ownership, verifiable means of identification such as driver’s license, permanent voter’s card, National Identity Card, together with their alternate account and Bank Verification Number (BVN) for the verification of their deposits and subsequent payment of insured sums.
In the alternative the corporation urged the affected depositors to file online claim by visiting the NDIC website claims page on www.ndic.gov.ng/claims/claims, download and fill the claims forms and upload the required documentation.
On verification and payment of the defunct bank’s creditors, the NDIC also advised such creditors to visit the nearest branch of the bank to file their claims or via the online platform. Please note that the process of payment of creditors will commence immediately after all depositors have been paid.
In addition, it also directed debtors of Heritage Bank that were yet to complete the repayment of loans to contact the Corporation’s Asset Management Department (AMD) and visit the NDIC website for more details.
The corporation assured the entire banking public of its commitment to the continued safety of depositors’ funds in all licensed banks and as such, urged depositors to continue their banking businesses without fear as banks whose licenses have not been revoked remained safe and sound.
