NDIC reiterates commitment to capacity building in media industry

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer NDIC, Mr. Hassan Bello gave this assurance during a courtesy visit last week by the executive members of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Abuja.

Bello said the corporation launched its capacity building workshop for finance correspondents and business editors in 2002 as a veritable means of building capacity in the media industry especially on the workings of the deposit insurance system in Nigeria as well as other topical issues in the Nigerian financial services sector.

Ever since the commencement of the capacity building program, the symbiotic relationship between NDIC and financial journalists has remained cordial.

He said through this platform, the horizon and knowledge of deposit insurance of members of FICAN has broadened while the corporation has enjoyed robust and informed reportage of its mandate and activities.

“You have demonstrated such an understanding and support that cannot be quantified. This means the collaboration has been a win-win situation for both NDIC and FICAN. It is on this note that I want to commend your entire membership in particular and the media in general for this wonderful relationship.”

He said the desired level of knowledge of the deposit insurance system in Nigeria among different strata of the banking public has not been achieved, as evidenced by the result of a survey carried out by NDIC in 2019/2020.

This is why, he added, the corporation will continue to collaborate with the media in order to increase this awareness, stressing that there is a need for increased collaboration between regulatory agencies and the media.

This, he said, is important because knowledge gaps by reporters on the activities of most agencies have a way of eroding stakeholders’ confidence.

Also speaking, the Executive Director, Operation, NDIC, Mr Mustapha Ibrahim commended the delegation drawn from the Lagos national body of FICAN and the Abuja chapter for their efforts in maintaining the existing relationship between the two bodies.

He assured FICAN of NDIC’s readiness for continued support.

The corporation is a safety net to depositors in times of bank failure.

For further clarity, the maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) per depositor per bank has progressively increased from N50,000.00 at inception in 1989 to its current N500,000 per depositor per deposit money bank (DMB). Similarly, the insured limit for microfinance banks (MFBs) and primary mortgage banks (PMBs) in 2009 was increased from N100,000.00 to N200,000.00 per depositor per MFB/PMB in 2010. However, in 2016, there was an upward review of the deposit insured limit for depositors of PMBs to N500,000.00 in order to ensure coverage of over 90 per cent of depositors in that sub-sector.

The Corporation has equally extended deposit insurance coverage to the subscribers of non-interest banking institutions, under the sharia-compliant banking services to the maximum limit of N500,000.00 per depositor. In addition, the Corporation had developed a framework on Pass-Through Deposit Insurance Scheme (PTDIS) to protect the subscribers of Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) with a maximum insured limit of N500,000.00 per subscriber of this banking product.

It has been calling on all depositors who lost their money in any closed banks to file their claims through the zonal offices of the Corporation or any of the 10 agent banks appointed for the payment across the nation.

The appointed agent banks are First Bank of Nigeria, United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank, Wema Bank, Heritage Bank, Union Bank, Fidelity Bank, Polaris Bank, Unity Bank and Access/Diamond Bank.