The Managing Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mr. Thompson Oludare Sunday has reaffirmed that the Agency is working to ensure that the banking system in the country remains safe, sound and resilient.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, Sunday said ‘over three decades, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has remained a critical pillar of Nigeria’s financial safety-net architecture.
‘Through our mandate of deposit guarantee, bank supervision in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, failure resolution and bank liquidation, the NDIC has worked to ensure that the banking system remains safe, sound and resilient.
‘These responsibilities have direct bearing on the resilience of the nation’s economy as every thriving business needs a trusted financial system that can safeguard its working capital, facilitate payments and support access to credit for investment and expansion. This is where the NDIC comes in’.
He explained that to ‘strengthen confidence in the banking system, the Corporation enhanced its deposit insurance coverage in 2024 with the maximum insured limit increased to ?5 million per depositor per Deposit Money Bank (DMB) and Mobile Money Operator (MMO), and ?2 million per depositor per Microfinance Bank (MFB), Primary Mortgage Bank (PMB) and Payment Service Bank (PSB).
‘This significant enhancement provides full coverage for over 98 percent of depositors across the insured institutions, thereby protecting households, small businesses and other vulnerable depositors from the immediate consequences of bank failure.
‘For depositors whose balances exceed the insured limits, the NDIC continues to pay liquidation dividends from recoveries realised through the recovery of debts owed to the failed institutions as well as the disposal of their physical assets. Our objective is straightforward: no depositor should lose confidence in the banking system merely because an insured institution has failed.
‘We are also transforming the way depositors are reimbursed. Through the deployment of technology, including the Bank Verification Number (BVN), Single Customer View (SCV), NIBSS infrastructure and other digital solutions, the Corporation has moved from cumbersome, manual processes towards faster and seamless reimbursement. Today, verified depositors of failed banks receive their insured deposits within days of bank closure’.
The MD reiterated that the NDIC has positioned itself to serve as not merely a payer of claims after bank failure, but as a Risk Minimizer. ‘One that identifies vulnerabilities early, strengthens safeguards and works to prevent institutional problems from escalating into systemic crises.
‘Accordingly, the Corporation has continued to re-set and strengthen its institutional framework in line with global best practices. These initiatives include the deployment of Risk-Based Supervision (RBS), an enhanced Differential Premium Assessment System (DPAS), the Single Customer View (SCV) Framework, a full Distress Resolution suites, and the Bank Liquidation Management System (BLMS), alongside stronger inter-agency collaboration, particularly with the Central Bank of Nigeria and other members of the financial safety net architecture.
‘It is against this backdrop that I wish to seize this opportunity to make a simple but important appeal to Nigerians. Please, keep your money in licensed and regulated financial institutions.
‘There are still Nigerians who keep substantial funds outside the formal banking system or entrust their savings to unlicensed fund managers, attracted by promises of extraordinary and unrealistic returns. Please note that the consequences of this can be devastating.
‘The proliferation and collapse of Ponzi schemes have demonstrated, time and again, the enormous financial and emotional cost of placing hard-earned resources in unregulated schemes. If an investment promise sounds too good to be true, Nigerians should pause, ask questions and verify before committing their money’ he stated.
Sunday therefore encouraged businesses and members of the public to strengthen their financial literacy, embrace digital financial services responsibly, maintain sound financial practices and engage with relevant regulatory institutions whenever they require guidance. ‘The more informed the public becomes, the stronger our collective capacity to build a resilient financial system’.