Nigeria’s NDIC says failed-bank debtors hide assets to dodge repayment
Nigeria's deposit insurer accused some borrowers of failed banks of hiding assets, stalling in court and using intimidation to avoid repaying loans. An official said in Abuja on Monday that these tactics delay payouts to depositors of liquidated lenders.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says some debtors of collapsed banks are deliberately refusing to repay their loans. The corporation accused them of hiding assets, using legal delays and resorting to intimidation to block recovery, the Daily Trust reported via AllAfrica. It said the money belongs to depositors. The tactics hold up claims owed to customers of liquidated institutions. Ogungbemi Theophilus, director of the NDIC's Asset Management Department, raised the concerns on Monday. He spoke at a Stakeholders' Seminar and Public Relations Workshop in Abuja. He said some borrowers believe they no longer have to pay once a bank's licence is revoked. "A loan that was not repaid when the bank was alive does not become easier to recover when the bank is dead," he said. Theophilus said recovering unpaid loans remains one of the hardest parts of liquidating a bank. He warned that delays in collecting loans and selling physical assets can sharply cut their…
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