Omodele Adigun, Charles Nwaoguji ,Chiamaka Ajeamo
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has reassured Nigerians of safeguarding their bank deposits, boosting financial stability and instilling discipline into the nation’s money market.
According to its Managing Director, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, while speaking yesterday during the NDIC Special Day at the Lagos International Trade Fair , the corporation remains resolute in its determination to protect depositors’ funds and promote public confidence in the entire financial system.
Umaru, who spoke through the Corporation’s Head of Corporation, Mr Kudu Ibrahim, stated that its roles to protect customers’ deposits and inspire confidence in the system emanate from the NDIC’s core mandates of deposit guarantee, bank supervision, distress resolution and bank liquidation, adding that this will play a crucial role in the successful delivery of the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
He added: “The changing landscape of the Nigerian financial sector brought to fruition the broadening dimension of Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) . Although, this effectively altered the scope and depth of regulatory/supervisory interventions, but the NDIC remains resolute in its determination to safeguard depositors funds.
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“The NDIC provides deposit insurance coverage to subscribers of MMOs to the maximum limit of N500,000 through the Pass-Through Deposit Insurance Framework. This is to further promote financial inclusion drive across the broad spectrum of the Nigerian economy.”
He explained that the NDIC, is in collaboration with the CBN to ensure effective supervision of banks in the country so as to enable strict adherence to rules and regulations guiding banking operations, to protect depositors in the domestic financial system against fragrant disregard of extant rules by management of financial institutions, “in terms of stalling the occurrence of unlawful insiders’ dealings, weak internal control and overall non-compliance to prudential guidelines.”
Also speaking at the event,the president of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Babatunde Ruwase Kudu Ibrahim, commended NDIC on keeping to its mandate adding that, the corporation since its inception has gone from strength to strength not only in the implementation of its mandate, but also in ensuring that the over-riding public policy objectives for establishing an explicit deposit insurance system in the country were realized.
At a time like this, he said building confidence in the country’s financial system is crucial in the face of vulnerability of the economy to Foreign Exchange crises, liquidity challenges and macroeconomic distortion.
“We appreciate the effort made by NDIC in the distress situation of Skye Bank. We also acknowledge upward review of the maximum deposit Insurance coverage which currently stands at N500, 000.00 per depositor for licensed banks. This is in tandem with current economic conditions and there should be a continuous review of the exercise,” he added.