The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced the closure of three Micro Finance Banks in Enugu.
The Banks are Crown, First Omasi and Tri-Star Micro Finance Bank whose licences were revoked recently.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive of NDIC, Umaru Ibrahim who announced this during the NDIC Special Day at the 27th Enugu International Trade Fair advised depositors of the banks to as a matter of urgency, come forward and file their claims for payment.

The NDIC boss, who was represented by the South East zonal Coordinator of the organisation, Ayuba Ibrahim assured the depositors of the closed banks, that NDIC has the ability to pay them after they have filled their claims.

According to him depositors of closed Harvard Trust Savings and Loans also in Enugu should equally file their claims as the sum of N37.96 million has been paid to the depositors to date out of insured sum of N81.64 million leaving an outstanding balance of 43.68 million,

He further disclosed that “of the total insured deposit amounting to N75.49 Million for the three MFB’s”(,N8.35,N24.02 and 43.12 for Crown, First Omasi and Tri-Star respectively), the sum of N58.47 Million(N4.26,N16.32 and N37.89 for Crown, First Omasi and Tri-Star Respectively) has been paid leaving a balance of N17.02 Million(4.08, N7.71 and N5.23 Million for Crown, First Omasi, and Tri-Star respectively) outstanding” .

Responding to a question on why the banks were closed the chief executive noted that Banks operate within some rules’ adding that relevant authorities would not hesitate to withdraw the licences of banks that fail   to meet the obligations of depositors.

Ibrahim also reminded members of the public of the activities of illegal funds managers otherwise known as ‘Wonder Banks’.

He called on members of the public to stop patronising these fake banks.

According to him, the Wonder Banks offer mouth watering interest rates to dupe unsuspecting members of the public of their hard earned incomes in the name of investments.

The NDIC boss further stated that for the avoidance of doubt, the Wonder Banks or Illegal Funds Managers were neither licensed by either the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor were they under the NDIC deposit insurance scheme.
He also expressed concern over the recent trend of some cooperative societies which are been used by some persons to engage in illegal collection of deposits thereby defrauding members of the public, and called on the Federal and state government to impose stringent punishment against such cooperative societies.

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