NDIC: BVN discrepancies delaying payments to defunct Heritage Bank customers

By Mariam Abeeb

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says discrepancies in bank verification numbers (BVN) are delaying payments to some Heritage Bank customers.
Bello Hassan, NDIC’s managing director (MD), said the corporation had disbursed a significant amount to depositors of the defunct bank who did not have BVN-related issues.
Speaking to NAN on Sunday, he urged depositors of the bank who are yet to receive their insured deposit credit alerts to visit the NDIC’s website and complete their verification forms for payment.
Hassan said the verification process would also include depositors without a BVN-linked alternate account.
“We have already commenced the payment of customers since June 6,” Hassan said.
“We have paid substantial amount to the customers.
“What we leverage in making the payment is BVN of customers. We trace alternate accounts in other banks and pay them their insured amounts.
“There are some that we have challenges linking up because of some discrepancies between the names and others.
“We are calling on customers that have not received their alerts in their alternate accounts to come forward and complete their verification forms so that we can pay them.”
Concerning depositors with more than N5 million in the bank, Hassan said they would receive a liquidation dividend.
He said NDIC has started selling the physical assets and initiated steps to recover the loans and advances made by the bank.
“That is what we use in paying those liquidation dividends,” the NDIC boss said.
“We are not going to wait until we recover everything.
“As we recover, we will also advertise to say that we will pay liquidation dividends so that concerned depositors will be on the look out for alerts in their accounts.”
On June 3, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the licence of Heritage Bank Plc with immediate effect.
The regulator said the move was necessary because the board and management of the bank have not been able to improve the bank’s financial performance, a situation which constitutes a threat to financial stability.

Following the revocation, the NDIC announced the commencement of the verification and payment to Heritage Bank depositors.

Hassan, at a media briefing on June 5, promised that the corporation would settle insured customers within one week, adding that the total bank deposits at Heritage Bank stand at N650 billion while its loan portfolio is above N700 billion.

Hassan said the bank’s total depositors are 2.3 million, with 99 percent of them having total balances of less than N5 million.

In an advertorial in a newspaper publication on June 13, NDIC announced the sale of the bank’s assets including vehicles, office equipment, plant, and machinery, located in 62 different locations across the country.