Twenty bankrupt banks have 100% liquidation dividends declared by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and depositors of those institutions are asked to submit claims.
This was revealed yesterday at the ongoing Abuja International Trade Fair by Dr. Bashir Nuhu, Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs.
He said, “The implication of this is that, through our dogged liquidation activities, the Corporation has realised enough funds to fully pay all depositors of the banks.”
The impacted financial institutions include ABC Merchant Bank Limited, Allied Bank of Nigeria, Alpha Merchant Bank Plc, Amicable Bank of Nig. Limited, Commerce Bank, Commercial Trust Bank Limited, Continental Merchant Bank Plc, Cooperative & Commerce Bank Plc, and Eagle Bank.
Financial Merchant Bank Limited, Icon Limited (Merchant Bank), Ivory Merchant Bank, Kapital Merchant Bank Limited, Mercantile Bank of Nigeria Plc., Merchant Bank of Africa Limited, Nigeria Merchant Bank Plc., Pan African Bank Limited, Premier Commercial Bank Limited, Progress Bank of Nigeria, and Rims Merchant Bank Limited made up the remaining group.
He claims that similar warnings were also addressed to depositors and former employees of two MFBs and a PMB as well as creditors of seven DMBs that were in liquidation.
The Director further stated that all of the nation’s Microfinance Banks would be fully digitalized as a result of NDIC’s desire to protect depositors’ funds.
He stated:
“Recently, through newspaper adverts, radio and television announcements and notices on our website and social media handles, the Corporation repeated its call to depositors of twenty closed banks in which it has declared full (i.e. 100%) liquidation dividends to come forward for verification and payment of their deposits that are in excess of the guaranteed sums.”
The theme aligns with the corporation’s initiative that established the new cost-saving digital platform known as the National Microfinance Bank Unified Information Technology (NAMBUIT), to address cost of operation and assist Microfinance Banks (MFBs) to build a user-friendly interface, flexible processing, aid decision making, and increase financial inclusion in the country, claims Dr. Nuhu.
“The corporation is hereby fully committed in ensuring the MFBs are digitized towards achieving this noble plan. It is instructive to note the strong nexus between our mandate and the theme of this year’s fair.”
The NDIC, he continued, was creating an environment that would allow the financial system to support the SME sector of the economy and foster an export-ready market by fulfilling its public policy objective of protecting depositors in the event of bank failures and by providing a level of safety for the banking system generally.
He said:
The Corporation protects depositors through the discharge of its mandate in four critical ways namely: by guaranteeing payment in the event of bank failure; by supervising the banks in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that they are run in an efficient manner in line with extant laws and regulations; by resolving distress to reduce instances of failure; and through orderly and efficient liquidation of failed banks to prevent disruptions to the payment system
In another speech, Dr. Mujtaba Abubakar, President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, urged the NDIC to be watchful against Ponzi scheme activities that aim to swindle Nigerian citizens.