‘NDIC remitted N217b to government in 30 years’

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) remitted a whopping N217 billion into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the government within the three decades of its existence, the Ministry of Finance has disclosed.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, together with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo poured encomia on the corporation for successes recorded since inception.

Represented by the Director, Home Finance in the ministry, Mr. Okon Udo, the minister said, “Today, its accumulative remittances to the consolidated revenue fund stands at over N212.71 billion.”

The two principal officials of government gave their score yesterday in Abuja at NDIC 30th anniversary lecture.

Osinbajo particularly identified the unique collaboration between the NDIC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as legendry and declared that the synergy was responsible for the sound financial industry that Nigeria enjoys.

“Together, and in collaboration with a number of other regulators, the CBN and NDIC have superintended a remarkable improvement in the conduct of banking corporate governance over the last decade. They have been guided and supported by a range of legislative and regulatory tools, including the CBN Act, the NDIC Act and other regulatory institutions such as the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), and if the banks are public then the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),” the Vice President underscored, urging them to sustain the collaboration.

Ahmed equally commended the NDIC for the many interventions to safeguard depositors’ interest and promote a sound banking industry in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director, Access Bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede, who was the guest lecturer, identified weak corporate governance structures as the reason banks fail.

He, however, declared that the joint NDIC and CBN monitoring efforts were enthroning sanity in the country’s banking industry.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim expressed satisfaction with the many strides achieved in the 30 years journey of the institution.

He gave a rundown of some of the achievements so far: “ Today’s event witnesses the public presentation of a book, 30 years of DIS in Nigeria. It documents the Corporation’s modest beginnings and achievements over the period.

“ In the first decade of its existence, the NDIC was saddled with the onerous responsibility of managing distress in the banking system. It adopted multiple distress resolution options including provision of financial assistance to deserving institutions, the imposition of holding actions, change of management of affected banks, and assisted mergers. It also became necessary to undertake the orderly liquidation of 33 banks whose licenses were revoked by the CBN. The Corporation also implemented the Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Act 1994, which established Failed Banks Tribunals to prosecute those who were responsible for the failure of the banks.

“ The second decade in the corporation’s evolution was defined by its responses to the regulatory challenges of bank consolidation policy of 2005. The Corporation adopted the Purchase and Assumption (P&A) system to resolve the problems of 13 banks whose licenses were revoked for failing to meet the N25 billion capital requirement. The NDIC Act was amended in 2006 to strengthen the Corporation’s powers so as to execute its mandate more effectively. However, some challenges experienced since 2006 have necessitated the need to rev up capital. The Corporation introduced significant reforms during the period, such as Enterprise Risk Management, Differential Premium Assessment Systems (DPAS), built capacity of staff in Risk-Based Supervision (RBS) and deployed a new performance management system. The Corporation also extended DIS coverage to Microfinance Banks (MFBs) and Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs). It also reviewed the maximum coverage for different categories of deposit-taking financial institutions.

“ To assist in the promotion of the financial inclusion initiative of the CBN, the NDIC introduced the Framework for a Pass-through Deposit Insurance scheme to enhance confidence, safety, and stability in the mobile payment system. The scheme caters for the Mobile Money depositors.

In the year 2011, the Corporation established three (3) Bridge Banks to take-over the assets and assume the liabilities of the three (3) failed banks, namely Afribank, Bank PHB and Spring Bank. Polaris Bank was also established in 2018 as a Bridge Bank following the liquidation of Skye Bank,” Ibrahim further listed the achievements.