Failed Nigerian Banks Since 2010: Full List and How to Recover Trapped Funds
By Aboki Forex —
Depositors with money in failed Nigerian banks may still recover their savings. The route to repayment depends on whether their accounts moved to a successor bank or remained under liquidation by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
Official records identify six commercial bank licence revocations from 2010 onwards: Afribank, Bank PHB, Spring Bank, African International Bank, Skye Bank and Heritage Bank. Hundreds of smaller lenders also lost their licences in the same period.
What happened to the six banks
Afribank failed in 2011. Its deposits were transferred to Mainstreet, which was later acquired by Skye Bank. Skye Bank's business later passed to Polaris. Bank PHB also failed in 2011, with Keystone assuming its assets and liabilities, including deposits. Spring Bank failed in 2011 and Enterprise took over before Heritage acquired it.
African International Bank entered liquidation in 2013. Outstanding claims should be checked with NDIC. Skye Bank's licence was revoked in 2018, and Polaris assumed its entire assets and liabilities. Heritage Bank failed in 2024, and NDIC commenced insured repayments and subsequent liquidation dividends.
NDIC records show that the 2011 bridge-bank arrangements preserved banking services for more than 3.7 million depositors. Skye customers also continued operating their accounts through Polaris. The six-bank figure covers commercial banks identified in the review, not every failed deposit-taking institution.
Microfinance and mortgage bank closures
NDIC documented 103 microfinance bank closures in 2010, another 83 in 2014 and 42 in 2020. In 2023, 179 microfinance banks and four mortgage banks lost their licences. Another 46 microfinance bank licences were revoked in July 2026.
These figures should not be presented as a complete sector-wide total. Reinstated licences, acquisitions and different closure exercises complicate the count. In April 2026, NDIC said 89 institutions from the 2023 closures had been acquired under arrangements transferring assets and liabilities to newly licensed institutions.
Customers should establish whether a successor institution holds their deposits before pursuing liquidation claims.
Insurance limits and recovery steps
NDIC's published insurance limits are ₦5 million per depositor at a deposit money bank and ₦2 million at a microfinance, primary mortgage or payment service bank. These are maximum protections, not automatic compensation awards. Customers receive their verified eligible balances up to the applicable ceiling. Depositors in older failed banks should confirm the limit governing their claims because earlier coverage levels were lower.
For Heritage Bank customers, NDIC began paying up to ₦5 million per depositor after the June 2024 closure. Larger balances remained eligible for additional recovery through liquidation. The corporation subsequently announced ₦46.6 billion in first liquidation dividends in April 2025 and ₦24.3 billion in second dividends in January 2026. These were collective distributions to eligible depositors, with further payments dependent on recoveries.
Customers should first confirm with NDIC whether their accounts were transferred or remain in liquidation. Next, gather proof of deposit such as a statement, passbook, cheque book or fixed-deposit certificate, alongside valid identification, a passport photograph and an active receiving account.
Complete the depositor verification form through the NDIC claims page. Scanned manual forms and supporting documents can also be submitted to [email protected]. Names and account details should match bank records, according to an NDIC report. Missing BVNs, inconsistent names and receiving-account restrictions can delay payment.
Customers awaiting refunds should request a claim-status check. Balances above insurance limits depend on asset sales and debt recovery. Depositors retain their claims, but full repayment and its timing cannot be guaranteed.
NDIC has commenced payment of insured deposits to customers of the 46 microfinance banks whose operating licences were recently revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). NDIC Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr Thompson Sunday, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on the sidelines of the International Association of Deposit Insurers Africa Regional Committee meeting.