The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced that the sale of Heritage Bank’s assets, including its landed properties and physical assets, will begin on December 4, 2024.
This move is part of the NDIC’s role as the liquidator of failed banks, as outlined in section 62 (1)(d) of the NDIC Act, 2023.
In a statement released on Monday, NDIC’s Director of Communication and Public Affairs, Bashir Nuhu, confirmed the commencement of the sale process.
“The sale of 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,” the NDIC said.
The NDIC emphasized that buyers wishing to participate in the auction must adhere to established guidelines designed to ensure transparency, fair competition, and accountability.
“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. This is vital for the payment of liquidation dividends to eligible claimants,” it added.
To support financial inclusion, the NDIC stated that preference would be given to financial institutions willing to acquire properties at the highest auctioned prices, along with all physical assets at wholesale value.
“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.”
However, the auction process remains open to all bidders, including corporate bodies and private individuals.
“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 NDIC stated.
The corporation also mentioned that interested bidders will have the opportunity to inspect the properties and chattels across all locations before the auction. “Bidders will be given the opportunity to inspect the properties and chattels across all locations prior to disposal,” the NDIC said.
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Bidders are required to submit their bids at designated NDIC offices located in Abuja, Lagos, Bauchi, Kano, Enugu, and Port Harcourt. Additionally, a 10 percent bid security of the offered value must be deposited as part of the bidding process.
This announcement follows the revocation of Heritage Bank’s operating license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3, 2024. The CBN cited the bank’s failure to improve its financial performance, which was seen as a threat to financial stability.
“The CBN said Heritage Bank violated section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Act, as it could not improve its financial performance, a situation which constitutes a threat to financial stability.”
Following the closure of the bank, the NDIC initiated a verification process and began settling insured depositors. The total deposits at Heritage Bank were valued at ₦650 billion, with a loan portfolio exceeding ₦700 billion.
“The total depositors were 2.3 million, out of which 99 percent of them had total balances of less than ₦5 million,” the NDIC reported.
The NDIC confirmed that it had already reimbursed approximately 82.36 percent of the insured deposits by August 2024.
The remaining 17.64 percent of insured deposits are yet to be paid due to challenges such as missing Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) or accounts with no debits (PND). The corporation assured that once the bank’s assets are recovered and debts settled, it would distribute liquidation dividends to the remaining uninsured depositors.
In conclusion, the NDIC reiterated its commitment to ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability throughout the auction process, with the goal of maximizing asset recovery and facilitating the payment of liquidation dividends to eligible claimants.
