From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, has appealed to Nigerians to desist from patronising uninsured financial institutions.
Speaking on the occasion of the NDIC Special Day at the 38th Kano International Trade Fair at the weekend, Ibrahim charged Nigerians to patronise only institutions licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and had displayed the NDIC sticker in their banking hall.
He explained that these “wonder banks” that come in various guises, persuade unsuspecting victims to part with their hard earned money with promises of unrealistic high returns on investments, which result in the “loss of vital savings and sometimes disastrous consequences on the victims.”
According to him, there was also the temptation of trend of investing in digital currencies popularly known as Bitcoins, which has similar consequences like the “wonder banks” cautioning that these digital currencies are not yet licensed by the CBN and were not insured by the NDIC.
While recalling the various fires in the state in the past, he urged traders and the public not to keep money in the market stores or in their houses, saying that it was safer to deposit money in the bank to avoid losing it to robbers and fire.
He urged the public to take advantage of the several incentives available in the banking sector and have access to their financial needs, pointing out that the requirements to open a bank account are easy to meet.
He added that the corporation had paid liquidation dividends to customers whose deposits were in excess of the insured sums upon the sale of fiscal assets of the such closed banks and debt