NDIC pays over N1 billion to depositors of closed banks

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced that it has paid a total of N1.084 billion to 29,573 depositors of 179 microfinance banks (MfBs) and four primary mortgage banks (PMBs) that had their licences revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as of September 22, 2023.

This disclosure was made by Bello Hassan, the NDIC Managing Director, during the NDIC Special Day event at the 18th Abuja International Trade Fair. According to him, the NDIC began paying out the insured amounts to the affected depositors in just seven days to close down the banks.

He further stated that the NDIC would pay liquidation dividends to depositors whose funds were above the insured limit after selling the physical assets and recovering the debts of the closed banks. He also mentioned that the NDIC was in the process of verifying and paying liquidation dividends to depositors and stakeholders of another 20 closed banks.

Hassan clarified that the NDIC’s role was to supervise, monitor, and oversee the operations of banks, as well as to provide deposit insurance, in order to safeguard depositors and ensure financial stability in the country.

He also warned the public to avoid illegal fund managers, wonder banks, and Ponzi schemes that had no licence from the CBN or insurance from the NDIC deposit insurance scheme. He said that these schemes lured customers with high interest rates and profits that were unrealistic, resulting in huge losses for many unsuspecting customers.

He urged the public to only deal with banking institutions that had NDIC stickers with the words “Insured by NDIC” displayed in their banking halls or entrances and various branches across the country.