By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The debt owed to First Bank Nigeria Limited by Heritage Bank Plc has been cleared by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), ThisDay is reporting.
On Monday, the CBN revoked the licence of Heritage Bank and appointed the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) as the liquidator.
The firm immediately swung into action and informed depositors of the distressed bank to begin the process to get their funds or not much more than N5 million.
Shortly after news of the withdrawal of Heritage Bank’s operating licence was announced, it was reported that First Bank has about N400 billion trapped in the company.
It was claimed that the embattled former Governor of the apex bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele, convinced First Bank to support Heritage Bank at the level of forbearance, clearing of their checks and instruments.
“This led to their massive indebtedness to First Bank to the tune of N500 billion,” ThisDay quoted a source with knowledge of the matter as saying.
The news platform stated that before the licence of Heritage Bank was retrieved yesterday, the central bank paid off the debts, though this has not been independently verified by Business Post.
Recall that the CBN said on Monday that it revoked the licence of Heritage Bank to strengthen public confidence in the banking system and… also send a strong message to other banks that they must adhere to regulatory requirements and maintain sound financial performance.”
It accused the lender of persistently breaching Section 12(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
The action of the central bank created panic yesterday, but the NDIC has assured them of the safety of their funds as long as they can go through the verification process.
“Depositors of the bank with alternate accounts within the industry will be paid up to the insured amount of N5 million per depositor using their Bank Verification Number (BVN) to locate their alternate account.
“While depositors with funds above ₦5 million will be paid liquidation dividend upon realisation of the bank’s assets and recovery of debts owed to the bank,” a statement issued by a spokesperson for the NDIC, Mr Bashir Nuhu, stated.
Dipo Olowookere