THE IMPACT OF BANK FAILURE IN NIGERIA ECONOMY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

One of the indices for measuring the development of an economy is the size, maturity and safety of its banking industry. This is because the banking industry plays a very important role in the mobilization and utilization of investible resources (financial) in the economy. It acts as the intermediary units of the country through a process of “financial inter-mediation”. The absence of a market for which can greatly reduce the growth of economic activities; its business activities are catalysts for economic development.

The Nigeria banking industry at the movement appears to be the verge of collapse. The banking public seems to have cost confidence in banking and chances are that this erosion of confidence may not be reversed unless the regulatory agencies. The central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) rise up to the challenge. It was the belief by the government that the banking crisis of the 1990s was caused mainly by fraud that to the promulgation of the failed banks (Recovery of Debts) and financial malpractice’s in Banks Decree Number 18 of 1994 (failed banks Decree). It is however difficult to justify the draconian nature of the failed bank Decree and its implicit assumption that fraud was a major cause of the banking crisis licenses withdrawn by the C.B.N ON account of sharp practices. In other words while it is true that the monumental growth in the number o registered banks may have led to increased fraud, it is unlikely that it was the sole cause of the subsequent banking failures.

There is no doubt that fraud has exasperated a desperate situation in the Nigeria Banking sectors. Fraud and embezzlement are not widespread. Both the government and the central Bank are unturned in the fraud and crises jamboree. Furthermore, fraud in itself may not be a sufficient condition for a banking crisis. The researcher submits that extremely bad management may not prove fatal to a bank until adverse economic conditions led to unexpected capital outflows or loan losses. Thus even if every bank which failed is judged to have suffered from mismanagement or fraud, or operated in a over populated banking market, it may well be the case that adverse economic conditions will be the proximate causes of many bank failure.

The NDIC implicitly agree with the above submission in a circular dealing party with current banking crises in Nigeria. It concluded, “the revival of the banking system would entail strong political will that should allow for the adoption of the appropriate failure resolution option, based on the technical judgment of the regulators. Finally and most importantly, a successful restructuring of the banking system would entail a stable macro-economic environment with little relative price distortions that would ensure a sustainable growth for the economy”.