Categories: Latest News

NDIC warns against illegal fund managers, loan sharks

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has again offered tips to the investing public towards safeguarding their hard-earned monies.

According to the corporation, as the unscrupulous elements get more and more creative in their ignoble acts, and as the NDIC and other regulatory bodies device more ingenious approaches to tackling their menace, it is pertinent for the corporation to continue to sensitize the public on their expected roles towards protecting their bank deposits.

Bello Hassan, Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer NDIC who made the observation during the NDIC special day at Enugu International Trade Fair on Wednesday added that depositors are to ensure their phones have strong password and do not share their bank mobile app password with third parties; ensure no one is watching when they enter their PIN to perform transactions.

He also stated that depositors should ensure their token is secure and other parties do not have access to it; and ensure their debit card number and CVV are not exposed to people.

“Equally important is the need to avoid investment offers with quick and arbitrarily high returns. “Arising from the foregoing, the NDIC likes to reiterate to members of the public, particularly the teaming populace in the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprise (MSME) sector, and others in the informal segment of our economy that the safest, smartest and most prudent place to keep your money is in the formal banking system because the NDIC protects your bank deposits.”

Such deposits, he noted, also enjoy the benefit of effective regulation and supervision of relevant authorities, and take people’s hard earned money beyond the ambit of illegal fund managers and loan sharks that currently awash the investment landscape and fleecing unsuspecting members of the public.

The event tagged ‘Harnessing Nigerian Human Capital Resources for Global Economic Advancement’.

Bello said the theme of the ongoing 34th Enugu International Trade Fair, 2023 speaks volumes about how the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture’s programs and vision match with the government’s priorities in this regard.

Also for us in NDIC he disclosed, it is instructive to note the strong relationship between “our mandate and the theme of this year’s fair.”

He noted that the day is set aside to showcase the mandate and activities of the NDIC, particularly its contributions to the stability of the country’s financial system.

To the executives and members of the Enugu Chamber of commerce, industry, mines and agriculture, he said the aray of exhibitors and visitors to this year’s trade fair, underscores the significance of the event.

” I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the executives and members of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture on yet another achievement in your tireless efforts to collaborate with the government in encouraging trade and investment, not only in the South East geo-political zone but the country in general.

“We are discharging our public policy objectives of protecting depositors in the event of bank failures and further offering a measure of safety for the banking system, thereby creating an enabling environment for the financial system to appropriately support the economic advancement of our great nation,” the NDIC boss reiterated.

The Corporation according to Bello, adopted participation in the Enugu International Trade Fair over the years, as a platform for continuous sensitization of depositors, and the general public on the existence of the Deposit Insurance Scheme (DIS), its advantages, and its limitations. This is significant as it will enhance public confidence in the financial system.

“We want the general public to know, and reflect always, that their deposits are safe and that in the unusual event of a bank failure, a government agency, the NDIC, is here to protect the depositors, especially the small savers,” he assured.

The Corporation protects depositors through the discharge of its mandate in four critical ways namely: by guaranteeing deposits in banks; by supervising the banks in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that they are run in safe and efficient manner in line with extant laws and regulations; by resolving issues of distress in banks to reduce instances of failure; and by ensuring orderly and efficient liquidation of failed banks to prevent disruptions to the payment system.

“It is worthy to note that the Corporation has been successfully and efficiently discharging its mandates from inception till date, living up to its public policy objectives and contributing to financial system stability,” Bello stated.

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE