The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has disbursed 1.072 billion naira ($11 million) to former distressed bank, Savannah Bank of Nigeria (SBN), to facilitate its return into the Nigeria financial market.

According to a statement released on Wednesday  in its 2011 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, the NDIC released 450 million naira ($2.8 million) to the bank in 2009 and a balance of 460 million ($3 million).  Another $1.029 million (162 million naira) belonging to the bank was also released in 2011.

The report indicated that the cumulative recovery of assets of closed banks in liquidation had reached about 22.236 billion naira ($141 million) in 2011 – representing a 2 percent increase compared to about 21.756 billion naira ($138 million) recovery made in 2010.

A total sum of 13.48 million naira ($85, 558) had also been recovered from closed microfinance banks as at December, 2011, the report shows.

While appraising the corporation’s activities in the period under review, Managing Director/Chief Executive, NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, said the commission commenced payment of insured deposits to the depositors of Triumph and Fortune Banks) which were closed in 2006.

He stated that about 26 million naira ($165, 027)  out of 804.35 million naira ($5.1 million) had been paid to 656 depositors of Fortune Bank in-liquidation while about 1.6 million naira ($10, 155) out of 45.36 million naira ($287, 908) had been paid to 35 depositors of Triumph Bank in-liquidation as at December 2011.

According to the NDIC boss,  “The NDIC had in the last one year recorded notable achievements in the protection of depositors and promotion of safe, sound and stable banking system in Nigeria.

“There is ample evidence that with careful formulation and adoption of appropriate strategies, the management and staff of the corporation are committed to ensuring that the corporation fulfills its statutory mandate. The corporation is committed to remain an active component of the Nigerian financial safety-net, particularly in the area of engendering confidence and contributing to financial system stability,” he added.

 Ibrahim said: “It is heartwarming to indicate that during the year under review, 3 additional banks in-liquidation, namely : Co-operative and Commerce Bank, Commercial Trust Bank and Ivory Merchant Bank, had declared a final dividend of 100 percent of total deposits. With that development, 14 of the 34 liquidated banks, prior to 2006, had declared a final dividend of 100 percent of total deposits, indicating that all their depositors would fully recover their deposits trapped in the banks.”

Meanwhile the  corporation enhanced the pace of debt recovery as well as payment of uninsured deposits by appointing a number of debt recovery agents and offering for purchase 13 eligible bank assets with total book value of 3.85 billion naira ($24.4 million) to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to boost recovery and facilitate payment last year.

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