Depositors of Heritage Bank to get their money this week

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has assured that the depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank in liquidation will begin to receive the insured deposits this week.

The NDIC also disclosed that, from preliminary findings, there are about N650 billion in deposits and about N700 billion loans, stressing that these figures could go up as the scrutiny of the bank’s records continues.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by Mr Bello Hassan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), while addressing the press on the liquidation of Heritage Bank in Abuja.

Mr Hassan highlighted that there are 2.3 million depositors at the defunct Heritage Bank, and 99.9 per cent of the depositors have balances of less than N5 million.

He urged all bank customers to continue their legitimate businesses, assuring that the banking system is sound and safe.

The Corporation said it would go after debtors of Heritage Bank who are owing the bank to the tune of about N700 billion.

Explaining further, the NDIC’s Managing Director said that based on a preliminary assessment of the records of the bank, the amount of depositors’ funds is about N650 billion.

He assured customers of the bank that if the N700 billion loan was recovered, it would cover the N650 billion that customers had deposited with the bank.

“From our preliminary assessment, we have found out that Heritage Bank has about N650 billion in deposits and loans is about N700 billion, and if we recover this amount, no depositor will lose their deposit.

“We assure depositors that there is no need to panic and that they will get their money back beginning this week.

“The NDIC has been appointed as the liquidator of Heritage Bank. Customers with insured deposits will be paid up to the insured limit of N5 million,” Mr Hassan said.

On the fears that customers whose deposits exceed the insured limit may be at risk, Mr Hassan said there is no need for panic.

He highlighted that there are 2.3 million depositors at Heritage Bank, pointing out that about 99.9 percent of that number have less than N5 million as deposits, and stressed that only about 4,000 depositors have about N5 million and above in the bank.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on Monday the revocation of the licence of Heritage Bank Plc in a bid to ensure stability in the banking system.

The CBN, in implementing its mandate to ensure a sound financial system in the country, revoked the licence of the bank with immediate effect.

The apex bank said the action was taken under the powers granted it by Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.

The CBN’s action raised questions and concerns among customers, stakeholders, and the general public about what would happen to customer’s deposits, but the NDIC has assured that there should be no need to panic because the banking system is sound and all depositors at Heritage Bank will get their money.\

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