Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has said it is still paying the guaranteed deposits of customers of 46 microfinance banks whose licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on July 1.
Speaking at a three-day capacity development program organised by the corporation in collaboration with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Oludare Sunday, managing director and chief executive of the NDIC, said the ongoing exercise was part of the corporation’s mandate to protect depositors and maintain confidence in the financial system.
According to him, the corporation had commenced payment of the guaranteed portion of deposits to eligible depositors of the affected institutions, but could not provide a final figure as the exercise was still ongoing.
“As we speak, we have started paying the depositors. That’s the guaranteed portion of their deposits. It’s an ongoing process, and it is difficult to put numbers because even as I speak with you today, I’m sure new depositors are being paid,” Oludare said.
He explained that the NDIC was leveraging Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), to identify affected depositors and locate their alternative accounts in other banks for direct payment.
“All we need to do is to make sure that the accounts that have BVNs, that’s the Bank Verification Number identified, and in collaboration with the NIBSS, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, we identify their alternative accounts in other banks and pay them seamlessly without their having to come to us for verification,” he stated.
He said although the NDIC did not expect financial institutions to fail, the possibility of institutional failure made an effective deposit insurance system essential.
“Our expectation is that you have a country where deposit insurance is pervasive, where people know that their deposits with the banks are guaranteed and safe.
“We do not expect institutions to fail, but then it is a fact of life. Just as people will die, some institutions will fail. But when they do, we want depositors to be sure that they are covered by the NDIC,” he stated.
Speaking on the NDIC’s mandate, Sunday said effective procurement was critical to the corporation’s ability to efficiently protect depositors, supervise insured financial institutions in collaboration with the CBN, resolve failing banks and ensure the orderly liquidation of closed banks.
“Procurement plays a strategic role in the achievement of our mandates and the effective delivery of our strategic objectives. It is a critical support function that underpins the Corporation’s operations,” Oludare said.
On his part, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, director-general and chief executive, Bureau of Public Procurement, said the bureau had introduced price intelligence and benchmarking as a cost savings measure for the government, as well as to allow contractors easily bid for government contracts.
Adedokun said the savings had created additional resources that could be reintroduced into the economy by government agencies. “So, just that introduction of that price intelligence means that that N400 billion is available to each government agency, depending on the amount per government agency, for them to reintroduce into the economy,” he said.
