Barbara Bako, Abuja.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says more than 98 per cent of bank depositors in Nigeria are now fully covered under the country’s deposit insurance scheme following a significant increase in the maximum insured deposit limits.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NDIC, Mr. Thompson Oludare Sunday, disclosed this on Monday while presenting the Corporation’s activities at the Federal Ministry of Finance’s Second Quarter 2026 Citizens and Stakeholders’ Engagement Session in Abuja.
He said the Corporation increased the maximum deposit insurance coverage in May 2024 for the first time since 2016, raising the insured limit for deposit money banks from N500,000 to ₦5 million, while coverage for microfinance, mortgage and payment service banks rose to ₦2 million.
According to him, the reform has resulted in 98.98 per cent of deposit money bank customers being fully insured, with coverage exceeding 99 per cent for customers of microfinance, mortgage and payment service banks.
Sunday said the Corporation currently protects more than 281 million depositor accounts across 914 licensed financial institutions nationwide.
He added that the NDIC had also significantly reduced the time required to reimburse depositors of failed banks through technology-driven payment processes linked to the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
He noted that insured depositors of Heritage Bank began receiving payments within four days after the bank’s licence was revoked in June 2024, while payouts to depositors of Aso Savings and Union Homes commenced within 72 hours of their licence revocations in December 2025.
The NDIC boss disclosed that in 2025 alone, the Corporation paid N4.06 billion to 13,446 insured depositors and N33.59 billion to uninsured depositors of failed banks. He added that about 698,040 depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank had so far received payments.
Sunday also highlighted reforms introduced under the NDIC Act 2023, saying the law strengthened depositor protection by giving depositors priority over creditors during bank liquidation, enhancing the Corporation’s resolution powers and improving its asset recovery framework.
He said the NDIC, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), conducted 287 on-site examinations of banks in 2025 and resolved 1,196 out of 1,407 depositor complaints received during the year.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, said the quarterly engagement was part of the Ministry’s commitment to transparency, accountability and sustained dialogue with citizens on the implementation of the Federal Government’s economic reforms.
She said the Ministry remained committed to advancing fiscal reforms aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability, improving public financial management and placing the Nigerian economy on a sustainable growth path.
Jafiya described the NDIC as a critical institution within Nigeria’s financial safety-net framework, noting that its role in protecting depositors and promoting confidence in the banking system was essential to financial sector stability.
She said sustained engagement with citizens and stakeholders would strengthen public understanding of government policies and support the effective implementation of the administration’s economic transformation agenda.
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