The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, has announced the commencement of payments to depositors of the 46 microfinance banks whose operating licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria in July 2026.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, Mr. Thompson Sunday, disclosed this on Thursday while speaking with journalists during the 2026 Stakeholders’ Retreat for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters in Lagos.
The retreat, themed “Strengthening Financial Safety Nets in an Era of Banking Sector Recapitalisation and Fintech Innovation,” focused on improving financial stability and protecting depositors amid ongoing changes in Nigeria’s banking sector.
The Central Bank of Nigeria withdrew the licences of the affected microfinance banks last month after they failed to meet key regulatory requirements. According to the apex bank, the institutions were unable to maintain adequate assets to cover their liabilities, ceased operations without approval, failed to begin business within the required period after licensing, stopped carrying out financial intermediation or could no longer maintain the minimum capital required by law.
Speaking on the development, Sunday explained that the NDIC automatically assumed the role of provisional liquidator following the revocation of the banks’ licences and immediately began the process of reimbursing insured depositors.
He said the corporation would first settle all guaranteed deposits before moving to recover outstanding debts owed to the failed institutions. He added that the agency would also dispose of available assets and realise investments belonging to the banks in order to pay depositors whose balances exceed the insured limit.
Sunday further explained that the NDIC has improved its payment process through collaboration with the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System, NIBSS. Rather than waiting for customers to submit claims, the corporation now uses Bank Verification Numbers to identify depositors’ alternative bank accounts and transfer insured funds directly.
According to him, once an account is linked to a valid BVN, the system traces any existing account owned by the depositor in another financial institution, allowing payments to be made automatically without unnecessary delays. He noted that payments continue as more verified accounts are identified.
The NDIC chief said the same approach was successfully adopted during the liquidation of Heritage Bank, where about 700,000 verified depositors have already received their insured deposits.
He revealed that insured payments to Heritage Bank customers were completed in less than four days after the bank’s closure. He added that liquidation dividends have also been declared for depositors whose account balances exceeded the maximum insured amount.
Sunday, however, noted that some former Heritage Bank customers have not yet been reached because their details could not be verified through available databases. He urged such depositors to come forward with documents proving ownership of their accounts so the verification process can be completed and their payments processed.
He reiterated that customers entitled to guaranteed deposits do not need to submit claims before receiving payment, except in cases where their records cannot be matched through the available verification systems.
