Posted by By SEUN ADESIDA on
For depositors whose money are trapped in the failed banks, this is sure going to be good news as the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) has concluded payment arrangement plans.
For depositors whose money are trapped in the failed banks, this is sure going to be good news as the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) has concluded payment arrangement plans.
This was disclosed recently in Lagos by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, who said, " they are all going to get their deposit back, be it N50, 000, N1million or higher. They will all receive their money back hundred per cent."
On the mode of payment, he said for convenience, "the depositors would not be paid directly like it used to be. This is because of the amount involved, but deposit account will be opened for them in any of the existing 25 banks, and as soon as all procedures have been carried out, they will be notified where they will get their money."
Soludo, said "all a depositor has to do is to go to a designated bank and he will see is a new account with his deposit in the failed bank credited to the new account, the customer can now choose to either withdraw everything or he can continue banking with the paying bank."
Speaking further, he said, "The depositors will not be paid directly by the CBN but through the banks. And CBN will not wait until all the assets of the failed banks are disposed before depositors can have access to their deposits."
Soludo said, CBN chose not to use the old system of payment, which in most cases made depositors wait endlessly before they get their money. This he said, 'was because depositors will have to wait for the conclusion of the failed banks' deposit verification, asset verification and other state of affairs have been cleared, after this, depositors will now be settled out of the proceeds of sale of assets of such failed banks."
'But the new system of payments is so structured that depositors will not have to wait until failed bank's assets are sold before they can get their money." On the new approach, he said "what we will do is to call any of the existing banks to assume the deposit liability and take any of the assets found useful and CBN will give the bank a promissory note to cover the difference between the assumed liability and assumed assets of the failed bank. While the remaining assets will be warehoused, so that depositors don't wait endlessly for the assets to be disposed."
Speaking on the commencement of payment, the governor said " NDIC has finalized liquidation arrangements on at least one of the failed banks and that is Allstates Trust Bank, and depositors of the bank will get their money very soon. Others affected are Assurance Bank, Lead Bank and Trade Bank, I can assure you that NDIC officials are working round the clock to ensure that the depositors of these banks can get their deposits any time from now."