NDIC to adopt cost-effective bank failure resolution method

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has assured depositors of its drive to adopt cost effective method of bank failure resolution to protect depositors. The 2018 annual report of the corporation released in Abuja said it would also ensure prompt reimbursement of depositors in the event of bank failure in its future outlook. The report said the corporation would strengthen its supervisory functions by enhancing its skills in stress testing, financial technology, recovery and resolution plans. On bank failure resolution in 2018, it said that CBN revoked the operating licence of the troubled Skye Bank. but the corporation resolved the problem using a bridge bank mechanism.

It noted that Polaris Bank, acquired by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), was established to purchase the assets and assume liabilities of the failed Skye Bank. The report also said that the operating licences of no fewer than 153 Micro-Finance Banks (MFBs) and six Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) were revoked by the CBN in the year under review. It further said that the operating licences of 15 MFBs and one PMB were instated during the period. On deposit guarantee, the corporation said it had paid about N8.25 billion as insured amount to 442,999 depositors of closed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and N2.97 billion to 83,415 depositors of closed MFBs in 2018. On banks’ liquidation, it said the corporation continued with the liquidation activities of 53 DMBs, 325 MFBs and 51 PMBs. 

According to the report, a cumulative amount of N29.01 billion was recovered from debtors of DMBs-in-liquidation as at Dec. 31, 2018, compared with N28.48 billion realised in 2017.

On the financial performance, it said that the total operating income of the corporation increased by 12.77 per cent from N146.48 billion as at 2017 to N165.18 billion in 2018. The report said the corporation remitted N53.20 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the federation during the year under review. “The NDIC had in the last one year, recorded notable achievements in the protection of depositors and promotion of  safe and stable banking system in Nigeria. NDIC remains committed to safeguarding Nigerian financial system, particularly in the area of engendering public confidence and contributing to financial system stability,’’ it said. The report stressed the corporation’s readiness to continue to partner and collaborate with relevant local and international agencies in the promotion of financial system stability in the country. (NAN)