Depositors of the 179 microfinance banks (MFBs) and four primary mortgage banks (PMBs) that were recently shut down have been reimbursed by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
NDIC managing director, Hassan Bello, made this known at the ongoing 45th Kaduna International Trade Fair on Thursday.
Hassan, who was represented at the occasion by Hauwa Jimeta, a senior official of the corporation, added that NDIC has continually strengthened its systems, processes, and procedures to enhance transparency and accountability across its operations.
The chief executive officer said the corporation has significantly improved its processes to ensure swift payment of insured sums to depositors in case of bank failure.
Elaborating on the reimbursed funds, he said: “We also deployed digital remote payment strategies to facilitate electronic funds transfers to verified depositors’ alternate bank accounts.
“It is essential to emphasise that payments are ongoing, with depositors holding funds exceeding the insured limit set to receive liquidation dividends following debt recovery and asset sales.”
According to him, to address apathy among depositors with small balances, the NDIC launched the ‘Deposit Tracer’ initiative in partnership with a Mobile Money Operator 2 (MMO), enabling depositors to access their unpaid balances through mobile accounts.
Hassan said the corporation has also deployed a mobile application and updated its website for online claims processing, offering depositors the option of virtual verification during payout exercises.
He further said NDIC has introduced the “single customer view (SCV) framework to speed up payment to depositors of closed banks”.
Hassan said the priority of the corporation is to protect Nigerian depositors.
