The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced the complete settlement of customers of 20 closed banks whose deposits were trapped in the failed banks, in fulfilment of its promise of protecting depositors in the event of bank failures.

“The implication of this is that, through our dogged liquidation activities, the corporation has realised enough funds to fully pay all depositors of the banks,” managing director/CEO of NDIC, Mr Bello Hassan said yesterday at the ongoing 17th Abuja International Trade Fair in Abuja. That is part of measures to guarantee public confidence.

The affected banks are ABC Merchant Bank Limited; Allied Bank of Nigeria; Alpha Merchant Bank Pic.; Amicable Bank of Nig. Limited; Commerce Bank; Commercial Trust Bank Limited; Continental Merchant Bank Pic.: Cooperative & Commerce Bank Plc and Eagle Bank; Financial Merchant Bank Limited.

Others are Icon Limited (Merchant Bank); Ivory Merchant Bank; Kapital Merchant Bank Limited; Mercantile Bank of Nig. Plc.; Merchant Bank of Africa Limited; Nigeria Merchant Bank Plc.; Pan African Bank Limited; Premier Commercial Bank Limited; Progress Bank of Nigeria; and Rims Merchant Bank Limited.

Hassan who was represented by the director, of corporate services, Nuhu Bashir, said notices have also been sent to creditors of seven deposit money banks (DMBs) in liquidation as well as depositors and ex-staff of two micro-finance banks (MFBs) and primary mortgage bank (PMB) to come forward for settlement of their trapped funds in the failed banks.

He called on depositors, creditors and shareholders of the listed closed banks to avail themselves of the verification platforms provided by the Corporation to claim their funds.

“They are at liberty to visit any of the corporation’s nearest offices physically or utilise the NDIC App online or visit the claim page on our website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to expedite processing of their claims,” he stated

Mr Hassan assured all depositors and the general public that the NDIC will leave no stone unturned in its commitment to the effective discharge of its mandate. So

President, of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Al- Mujtaba Abubakar, said NDIC’s presence at the trade fair is an indication of the corporation and government’s commitment to the digitization of the economy for the use of technology across various sectors of the economy.

“I must commend the NDIC for the proactive policies that have made Nigerian banks resilient, by being safe, stable and sound in spite of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thereby resulting in improvement on return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) as well as yield on earnings and profitability,” Abubakar said.

The ACCI president urged for a sustained relationship through policy advocacy, especially against Ponzi schemes and ‘Wonder banks’ that tend to rob unsuspecting Nigerians of their hard-earned money.

Mr Bashir said the essence of the corporation’s participation in the Abuja International Trade Fair over the years is to continuously sensitize depositors, other stakeholders and the general public about the existence of the Deposit Insurance Scheme (DIS), its benefits and limitations.

“This is important to us since the populace confidence in the financial system can only be enhanced when they are aware that their deposits are protected and that in the unlikely event of failure of their banks, there is an agency of government that would always have their back,” he stated.