By Chioma Garba
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has ramped up efforts to recover billions of naira in outstanding loans tied to more than 600 failed financial institutions, as part of moves to strengthen depositor reimbursement and restore confidence in Nigeria’s banking system.
The corporation disclosed that it is currently overseeing the assets of over 600 defunct banks nationwide, including about 560 Microfinance Banks and 32 Deposit Money Banks. Central to its strategy is an aggressive debt recovery campaign aimed at reclaiming loans and advances issued by the failed institutions before they shut down.
To bolster the process, NDIC convened a sensitisation seminar for debt recovery agents in the Northern zone on Thursday in Abuja. The engagement focused on equipping the agents with operational tools and clarifying the expanded legal powers granted to the corporation under the revised NDIC Act.
Speaking on the sidelines of the seminar, Director of Assets Management, Mrs. Patricia Okosun, explained that loan recovery remains critical to the corporation’s mandate of reimbursing depositors.
According to her, when a bank fails, its assets — including outstanding loans — are transferred to the NDIC. Recoveries made from those risk assets are subsequently used to settle depositors, particularly after insured sums have been paid.
She noted that many recovery agents may not fully understand the scope of NDIC’s statutory powers, stressing that the seminar was designed to align them with the corporation’s expectations, schedules and enforcement authority.
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Also addressing participants, Director of Legal Services, Mr. Kushimo Olafemi, said the 2023 NDIC Act significantly strengthened the corporation’s authority to pursue debtors and expedite asset realisation.
He described the law as a robust framework designed to eliminate bottlenecks in debt recovery and ensure that funds used to pay insured depositors are replenished through efficient asset recovery.
Olafemi emphasised that effective loan recovery is not only about balance sheet clean-up but also about safeguarding public trust in the financial system.
He urged recovery agents to provide feedback on operational challenges and propose strategies for improved collaboration.
The renewed enforcement drive signals NDIC’s determination to maximise asset realisation from failed institutions and ensure that depositors are not left stranded when banks collapse.
