The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has initiated a nationwide auction of Heritage Bank’s assets to settle outstanding liquidation dividends, following the bank’s license revocation by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
NDIC’s Director of Communications, Bashir Nuhu, announced in a statement on Monday, that the corporation would commence the sale of the bank’s properties across 36 locations starting December 4, 2024.
“The sale of landed assets is by competitive bidding and will take place at the 36 affected locations of the bank across the country, from Wednesday 4th December, 2024,” Nuhu stated.
The auction follows the CBN’s June 3 decision to revoke Heritage Bank’s operating license for violating section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Act, citing the bank’s inability to improve its financial performance as “a threat to financial stability.”
According to Nuhu, the sale process will prioritize transparency and fair competition.
“Buyers who wish to participate in the auction are expected to follow laid down guidelines aimed at ensuring transparency, fair competition, equity and accountability to enable recovery of commensurate values from the exercise,” he said.
The NDIC has implemented specific measures to ensure financial inclusion remains intact in affected areas.
“In order to allow the continuation of provision of financial services to the Nigerian public at the locations of the closed bank towards bolstering financial inclusion, preference shall be given to financial institutions who are willing to buy any of the properties at the highest auctioned prices along with all the physical assets at wholesale value,” Nuhu explained.
The corporation emphasized that while financial institutions will receive preference, the auction remains open to all interested parties.
“Corporate bodies and Private individuals willing to compete are equally eligible to compete in the process without prejudice, as the auction shall be open and competitive to all bidders,” the statement confirmed.
Participating bidders must submit a 10% bid security of their offered value at designated NDIC offices in Abuja, Lagos, Bauchi, Kano, Enugu, and Port Harcourt.
The Explainer learned the NDIC has already made progress in compensating depositors, having reimbursed 82.36% of insured deposits up to N5 million per depositor.
The remaining 17.64% consists primarily of accounts with post no debit instructions, lacking BVN, or those with KYC limitations.
“This is vital for the payment of liquidation dividends to eligible claimants,” Nuhu emphasized, noting that depositors with balances exceeding N5 million will receive additional payments once the asset recovery process is complete and debts are settled.
