The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has stepped up its mandate to ensure that depositors of failed deposit money and microfinance banks are paid promptly.

The corporation, which commenced an inspection tour of the 93 agent banks designated to pay depositors of failed banks, is seeking to ascertain how the agents have performed, including whether payment to depositors has been carried out expeditiously and in conformity with the operational guidelines laid down by the corporation.

The NDIC said it would “assess and ensure that payments of both insured and uninsured deposits remitted to the banks are made to the depositors of the closed banks without fail or hindrance”.

The NDIC, in a statement signed by its head, communication and public affairs, Hadi Birchi, said the inspection is also to enable the NDIC identify and address areas of challenges faced by the agent banks that may hinder them from making payment to depositors of the closed banks and to further train the desk officers in charge of payment where the need arises.

The inspection tour is also expected to help the corporation “ensure that the banks properly keep the payment documents forwarded to them by the corporation such as mandate files, signature cards, liquidator’s certificates, deposit registers, to ensure that payment to the depositors are not impeded by the absence of these records”.

While 27 branches would be visited in the south-west, 24 in north-central and 13 in the south-south, the corporation would visit 15 branches in the south-east, 8 in the north-east and 6 in the north-west zones.

The corporation conducted a similar exercise in 2009, which involved 72 selected agent banks’ branches in the south-west, north-central, north-east and north-west geopolitical zones of the country.

By Bukola Idowu, Leadership