The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has intensified efforts to remove legal obstacles slowing down the recovery of debts and seizure of assets from failed banks.
The Corporation said the NDIC Act 2023 has strengthened its powers, especially in recovering debts and seizing properties used as collateral, adding that the new law is expected to reduce delays caused by long court cases, which previously made it difficult to recover money owed by debtors.
Speaking at a training programme for debt recovery agents on Thursday in Abuja, the director of the legal department, Mr Kushimo Oladipo, said the workshop was organised to help agents understand and apply the new law effectively.
He explained that, in the past, debtors often used court processes to delay the seizure of properties they had pledged as security for loans. According to him, the 2023 Act now gives NDIC and its agents clearer and stronger powers to act within the law and recover such debts faster.
Oladipo said effective debt recovery is important because the money realised from recovered loans is used to pay depositors of failed banks, especially amounts beyond the insured limit.
“The NDIC Act 2023 is a foolproof key to enhancing our debt recovery mechanism. It improves our powers, especially in asset recovery, and helps us overcome some of the legal bottlenecks that delayed recoveries in the past.
“Once depositors are confident that their money is safe and recoverable, it promotes financial inclusion and strengthens stability in the banking sector. A stable financial system is key to economic growth,” he stated.
Also speaking, the director of the Asset Management Department, Patricia Okosun, revealed that NDIC is currently managing assets of over 600 failed financial institutions. These include about 560 microfinance banks and 32 deposit money banks.
She said the corporation is mainly focused on recovering loans and advances given out by the failed banks, as this is a major source of funds used to repay depositors.
Okosun explained that, in the past, many recovery agents were not fully aware of the legal powers available under the law, noting that this limited their ability to act quickly, especially when debtors went to court to stop the seizure of mortgaged properties.
She added that the training programme was organised to educate the agents on the new provisions of the Act and improve cooperation between the corporation and recovery agents, who work on commission.
(The Sun)
