NDIC takes over 46 delicensed microfinance banks

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has officially assumed responsibility for overseeing 46 microfinance banks after the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked their operating licences on Wednesday.

The corporation has been officially appointed as the Liquidator, acting under Section 12 (2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 and Section 55 (1 & 2) of the NDIC Act 2023.

The regulatory sweep has triggered a frantic scramble among depositors, forcing institutional leaders to immediately weigh in on what this means for the fragile micro-economic landscape.

In an immediate response to the regulatory directive, the Head of the Communication & Public Affairs Department at the NDIC, Hawwau Gambo, issued a strict public directive regarding the assets of the dissolved institutions.

“Members of the public are strongly advised against any unauthorized transaction with the closed banks, or any attempt by individuals to remove, conceal, retain, or interfere with the assets, records, or properties of the banks, as this may constitute a violation of the law that could attract appropriate legal consequences,” Gambo stated.

The Corporation further emphasised that it has mobilised resources for a swift intervention, stating, “The NDIC has commenced the process of the orderly closure of the failed banks with their immediate takeover, verification and payment of insured sums to eligible depositors.”

While the NDIC moves to secure the financial safety net, financial experts and consumer advocates are sounding alarms over the vacuum this purge creates.

Speaking on the immediate structural macroeconomic shock in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, the President of the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, Professor Uju Ogubunka, warned that the sudden closure of 46 financial brands disrupts local credit systems.

He said, “The economy, of course, would also have to suffer for it because the roles they have been playing within the economy, they will no longer play those roles.

“If we don’t have other banks and financial institutions to absorb those roles, then that means there will be a vacuum, or at least there will be limitation in those services.”

Ogubunka pointed out that the aggressive clampdown threatens to undo years of grassroots financial sensitisation, hitting market women, smallholder farmers, and small business owners the hardest.

“We have been talking about financial inclusion, and that has put some degree of a minus aspiration of the country to have an improved level of financial inclusiveness,” he added.

Despite the looming anxieties, both the regulators and the NDIC have assured stakeholders that the liquidation process will follow due process to alleviate customer distress. Under current statutory guidelines, the NDIC will use the banks’ existing branches to verify depositors and disburse newly reviewed upward insurance caps.

Reflecting on the finality of the regulatory intervention, Professor Ogubunka concluded that while painful, the exercise remains an essential preventative boundary for banking sector hygiene.

“The best thing that has happened is that, well, CBN has taken the bull by the horn to say, ‘Okay, you can no longer function because of X, Y, Z. So please, do not enter that business anymore.’ We are protecting the country with this regressive policy, and the thing is that it’s super good.”

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The NDIC has committed to keeping the general public and eligible depositors updated on an ongoing basis regarding subsequent steps in the liquidation exercise.

The CBN revoked the operating licences of the banks over their persistent failure to meet regulatory requirements and standard financial indicators.

The apex bank disclosed that the revocation, which took effect from 1 July 2026, was approved by the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, in exercise of the powers conferred on him under Sections 12 and 13 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020.

In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi-Ali, the regulatory authority explained that the affected institutions had failed to remedy various operational deficiencies required to maintain their status as licensed financial institutions.

According to the apex bank, the decisive action became necessary after a series of supervisory reviews revealed that the institutions were plagued by terminal regulatory infractions.

These breaches included holding insufficient assets to meet liabilities, unauthorised closure of business premises, prolonged inactivity, complete cessation of financial intermediation, failure to commence operations within 12 months of licence issuance, and falling short of the statutory minimum capital requirements.

The statement read in part, “The revocation of the licences is part of the Bank’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the stability of the financial sector, protect depositors, and ensure that licensed institutions comply with current laws and regulatory requirements.”

The CBN reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining a safe, sound, and resilient financial system, stressing that it would continue to deploy appropriate supervisory and regulatory interventions to sustain public confidence in Nigeria’s sub-sector banking ecosystem.

The multi-state sweep hit several prominent and digital-first microfinance brands. The 46 affected institutions include Minji-Se Churchill Microfinance Bank, Merchant Microfinance Bank, Janmaa Microfinance Bank, Busu Microfinance Bank, Gold Microfinance Bank, Zain Microfinance Bank, Bompai Microfinance Bank, Ajwa Microfinance Bank, NOW NOW Digital Microfinance Bank, Crystabel Microfinance Bank, Chanelle Microfinance Bank, and Abia SME Microfinance Bank.

Others are Kamba Microfinance Bank, Iwade Microfinance Bank, Winview Microfinance Bank, Zuru Microfinance Bank, Minjibir Microfinance Bank, Shanono Microfinance Bank, Sumaila Microfinance Bank, Rimin Gado Microfinance Bank, Mwaghavul Microfinance Bank, Sycamore Microfinance Bank, Tofa Microfinance Bank, and Safegate Microfinance Bank.

The list also includes Creekline Microfinance Bank, Bestar Microfinance Bank, Livingspring Microfinance Bank, Apple Microfinance Bank, Stanford Microfinance Bank, Frontline Microfinance Bank, Zafec Microfinance Bank, Supreme Microfinance Bank, Bejin-Doko Microfinance Bank, Kanopoly Microfinance Bank, Bellbank Microfinance Bank, and Yeneng Microfinance Bank.

Also affected are Creditville Microfinance Bank, MBAG Microfinance Bank, Straight Sahara Microfinance Bank, OurPass Microfinance Bank, Verdant Microfinance Bank, Basawa Microfinance Bank, Casha Microfinance Bank, Esteem Microfinance Bank, Entrepreneur Microfinance Bank, and Avantus Microfinance Bank.

The massive regulatory clampdown comes amid a broader, aggressive campaign by the Cardoso-led CBN to sanitise Nigeria’s financial services industry. Since assuming office, the current CBN leadership has consistently warned that it will show zero tolerance for weak corporate governance, chronic undercapitalisation, and high non-performing loans across all tiers of banking.

Historically, this is not the first time the apex bank has undertaken a wholesale purge of the microfinance space. In May 2023, the CBN revoked the licences of 179 microfinance banks, four primary mortgage banks, and three finance companies over similar operational failures.