…Says we are not just a claim payer, but also a risk minimiser
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The Managing Director/Chief Executive of NDIC, Thompson Sunday, has urged Nigerians to save their money in licensed and regulated financial institutions.
This is as he also said that the NDIC has positioned itself to serve as not merely a payer of claims after bank failure, but as a risk minimiser.
He said this while delivering a Keynote address at NDIC’s Special Day at the 21st Abuja International Trade Fair organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture with the theme, “Resilience: Trade, Taxation and the Economy.”
He said that presently some Nigerians still keep substantial funds outside the formal banking system or entrust their savings to unlicensed fund managers, attracted by promises of extraordinary and unrealistic returns,warning that the consequences of this can be devastating.
The proliferation and collapse of Ponzi schemes, he noted have demonstrated, time and again, the enormous financial and emotional cost of placing hard-earned resources in unregulated schemes.
According to him, “If an investment promise sounds too good to be true, Nigerians should pause, ask questions and verify before committing their money.”
The NDIC boss informed that as part of its commitment to making depositor protection more accessible, transparent and convenient, the Corporation launched an upgraded website on September 19, 2026, encouraging depositors to visit the new www.ndic.gov.ng, which according to him is designed as a one-stop digital gateway for depositors and other stakeholders.
The website, he said prominently displays the enhanced deposit insurance coverage limits, incorporates automated features for claims processing, and provides an upgraded directory for checking institutions insured by the NDIC.
The website, he also said features a one-click Quick Action Bar, giving users direct access to our four key services: File Claim; Check Banks, Report Failed Bank, and FAQs, adding that in addition, the website incorporates an AI-powered virtual assistant to improve user interaction and provide faster access to information.
This, he said is not just a website upgrade but another step inin the NDIC’s journey towards a more accessible, responsive and technology-driven NDIC.
” We encourage depositors, creditors and shareholders of closed banks to make full use of our digital platforms when processing their claims,” he said.
Depositors, the NDIC Managing Director, said can also help to accelerate reimbursement by ensuring that their account information is accurate and consistent across banks and properly linked to their BVNs, adding that with the deployment of technology, depositors no longer need to endure the inconvenience of visiting failed bank premises or NDIC offices for routine physical verification or carrying large volumes of documents from one location to another.
He, however noted that technology and regulation alone cannot guarantee financial security, stressing that financial literacy is the first line of defence for every depositor and business owner.
He encouraged businesses and members of the public to strengthen their financial literacy, embrace digital financial services responsibly, maintain sound financial practices and engage with relevant regulatory institutions whenever they require guidance, adding that the more informed the public becomes, the stronger the collective capacity to build a resilient financial system.
On the trade fair, the NDC MD commended the Chamber for sustaining this important platform for 21 consecutive years.
He said that the fair with the theme, “Resilience: Trade, Taxation and the Economy,” is both timely and strategic and that it speaks directly to the realities of an economy undergoing profound transformation through bold reforms aimed at building a stronger, more resilient and productive economic structure, in line with the Federal Government’s vision of a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Sunday affirmed that for over three decades, the NDIC has remained a critical pillar of Nigeria’s financial safety-net architecture.
He said that through the Corporation’s mandate of deposit guarantee, bank supervision in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, failure resolution and bank liquidation, the NDIC has worked to ensure that the banking system remains safe, sound and resilient.
These responsibilities, he said have direct bearing on the resilience of the nation’s economy as every thriving business needs a trusted financial system that can safeguard its working capital, facilitate payments and support access to credit for investment and expansion.
He informed that to strengthen confidence in the banking system, the Corporation enhanced its deposit insurance coverage in 2024 with the maximum insured limit increased to ₦5 million per depositor per Deposit Money Bank (DMB) and Mobile Money Operator (MMO), and ₦2 million per depositor per Microfinance Bank (MFB), Primary Mortgage Bank (PMB) and Payment Service Bank (PSB).
This significant enhancement, Sunday said provides full coverage for over 98 per cent of depositors across the insured institutions, thereby protecting households, small businesses and other vulnerable depositors from the immediate consequences of bank failure.
“For depositors whose balances exceed the insured limits, the NDIC continues to pay liquidation dividends from recoveries realised through the recovery of debts owed to the failed institutions as well as the disposal of their physical assets. Our objective is straightforward: no depositor should lose confidence in the banking system merely because an insured institution has failed,” he said.
“We are also transforming the way depositors are reimbursed. Through the deployment of technology, including the Bank Verification Number (BVN), Single Customer View (SCV), NIBSS infrastructure and other digital solutions, the Corporation has moved from cumbersome, manual processes towards faster and seamless reimbursement. Today, verified depositors of failed banks receive their insured deposits within days of bank closure,” he added.
The NDIC, has positioned itself to serve as not merely a payer of claims after bank failure, but as a Risk Minimizer and one that identifies vulnerabilities early, strengthens safeguards and works to prevent institutional problems from escalating into systemic crises.
Sunday stated that the Corporation has continued to re-set and strengthen its institutional framework in line with global best practices.
He listed the initiatives to include: the deployment of Risk-Based Supervision (RBS), an enhanced Differential Premium Assessment System (DPAS), the Single Customer View (SCV) Framework, a full Distress Resolution suites, and the Bank Liquidation Management System (BLMS), alongside stronger inter-agency collaboration, particularly with the Central Bank of Nigeria and other members of the financial safety net architecture.
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