The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced plans to begin liquidation dividend payments to shareholders of the defunct Heritage Bank in April.
According to NDIC’s Acting Head of Communication and Public Affairs, Hawwau Gambo, the corporation will declare the first tranche of liquidation dividends following asset recovery efforts. Payments to uninsured depositors will commence afterward.
Heritage Bank’s banking license was revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3, 2024, prompting concerns about fund recovery for depositors and shareholders. By September, NDIC had reimbursed 84 percent of depositors with BVN-linked accounts, later urging others to claim their funds.
Gambo stated that payments would follow a pro-rata basis under Section 72 of the NDIC Act 2023, which prioritizes deposit liabilities over other claims. She added that NDIC has made substantial progress in selling Heritage Bank’s assets and recovering debts to ensure depositors with balances exceeding the insured limit receive their funds promptly.
She clarified that only after all depositors have been fully reimbursed will creditors and shareholders receive liquidation dividends.
However, some insured depositors remain unpaid due to issues such as post-no-debit (PND) restrictions, missing bank verification numbers (BVN), or Know Your Customer (KYC) limitations. Some depositors may also be unaware that payments have been credited to their alternate bank accounts due to mobile transaction alert issues.
Gambo advised affected depositors to check their other bank accounts for payments.
