BUSINESS SURVIVAL STRATEGIES IN A DEPRESSED ECONOMY

BUSINESS SURVIVAL STRATEGIES IN A DEPRESSED ECONOMY (A CASE STUDY OF FIDELITY BANK)

ABSTRACT

This research is an attempt to study the challenges of running small business in a depressed economy. The researcher identified that banking is in the midst of change that has arisen due to economic depression. As government seek to improve economic efficiency and better allocation of resources to solve the problem of economic depression, policy makers are shifting towards openness, competitiveness and market discipline. In response to the developments, banking business in Nigeria engaged in financial sanitizing, management strengthening corporate refocusing, Business Process Reengineering (BPR), merger and acquisition in order to survive the depressed economy. This whole process is called business survival strategies through corporate restructurings. The writer made efforts to discuss issues, facts and environmental factors surrounding the wave of banking business survival in a depressed economy like Nigeria. The impact of this research in bank was geared from the five performance indicators, namely total asset. Total deposits loans and advances, profit tax and holders’ funds of First bank of Nigeria Plc. The researcher looked at the position of these indicators before end after the sanitizing exercise undertaken by banks for survival and also, its impact on the entire banking system bearing in mind the effect of globalization on the financial market in a particular and the economy at large. Chapter four shows the presentation and analysis of first bank financial statement with the use of chart, tables, bar chart and graph. Chapter five show the summaries all that was discussed from chapter one to four and gave suggestions on how banking business can survive in a depressed economy. Finally, the researcher leaves this work open to constructive criticism and expects future scholar to device into further research and improve on the work.