AGS NEWS – The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced the sale of Heritage Bank’s head office in Lagos and its branches nationwide following the bank’s collapse.

An advert revealed that 48 bank properties and additional assets, including vehicles and office equipment in 62 locations, are up for sale.

The NDIC, acting as the liquidator, invited the public to bid for Heritage Bank’s assets, which include the main office at 143 Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, and six other branches in Lagos, four in Abuja, four in Rivers State, and more across the country.

Interested buyers can inspect the properties before submitting their bids to the NDIC office in Lagos, with bids requiring a 10% deposit in Certified Bank Draft. Successful bidders must pay the remaining amount within two weeks of notification.

The NDIC also began verifying and paying depositors with N5 million or less in their accounts, representing about 99% of Heritage Bank’s customers.

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NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan stated that Heritage Bank had 2.3 million depositors, with total deposits of N650 billion and a loan portfolio of around N700 billion.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked Heritage Bank’s license due to financial instability and failure to comply with banking regulations.

The CBN emphasized that despite various interventions, the bank could not recover, necessitating the license revocation.

Industry stakeholders supported the CBN’s decision. Mustapha Chike-Obi, Chairman of the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria, endorsed the CBN’s action, confident it was in the best interest of the sector.

The House of Representatives called for an investigation into Heritage Bank’s management to uncover any potential mismanagement contributing to its failure and urged the NDIC to review its operations to ensure effective handling of failed banks.