Financial Intermediation and Economic Development in Nigeria

In a Consultant’s Report on Business Support in FCT Number 107, by David Irwin in March 2004 for DFID, it was stated on Page 5, paragraph 3.3 that “Governments all around the world now recognise the important contribution that small firms make to the economy- and many governments have established extensive support arrangement to help people start and grow their businesses. In Nigeria, hitherto, there has been no concerted effort to encourage and support new businesses”. Some others have argued that the bane of SMEs in Nigeria is the lack of long-term loans since most loans in the Nigerian market are short-term while what SMEs require to grow and become really successful is long-term patient capital. The death of venture capital financing in Nigeria has also aggravated the situation as venture capital provides long-term patient capital, which allows a small business to grow, as is the case in Ghana and some developed

The Banking Industry plays an important role in the economic development of the country and is the most dominant segment of the financial sector. Banks encourage economic growth by allocating savings to investments that have potential to yield higher returns. They perform their basic role of accepting deposits and lending funds from these deposits. Banks securely save the money of depositors, provide interest to them, and lend the funds raised from depositors to consumers. They are in a wide range of sizes, from large Global Banks to Regional and Community Banks. We can study the structure of an organized banking industry by taking an example of Indian banking industry:

Over the past several decades the world has seen what the culprits are with financial instability. From the Great Depression, to the housing bubble crisis of 2008, the economy suffers from many fundamental problems that damper our financial situation. In The Bankers’ New Clothes, Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig explain the struggles of banking regulation in order to gain a better understanding of financial intermediation and how it affects us. Admati and Hellwig provide a forceful and accessible analysis of the recent financial crisis and also offer proposals on how to prevent any future financial failures. The way they achieve this is by engaging us, in plain language, by cutting through the confusion and acknowledging the issues of banking.

The banking system including the shadow banking system has been very instrumental in the driving of the economy, Wen 2012. Banking system consists of the structural network of institutions that offer financial servises within an economy or country,Cihak 2007. Howeve there has been great inovations and developments in this industry which can positively contribute to financial instability of an economy. Schaeck 2010, opined that the the growing increase in competition in the the banking sector between the traditional banks and the shadow banking system greatly increases the systematic risk the banking sysyem faces.The banking system always faces a systematic risk that if one bank happens to experience a problem the same will

Nigeria has a population of around 180 million, making it the most populous country in Africa. Nigeria is located in a region with tropical climate and that can grow variety of crops. With their numerous resources and growing technology they have been able to have positive economic advancement. Nigeria has had improvements in five of the ten economic freedoms. This includes Freedom of corruption, labor freedom, and management of government spending ("Nigeria." Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption.). Nevertheless these large improvements in their economy has not brought human development, where most Nigerians live under the poverty line. This paper will focus on why Nigeria has not been able to use their economic prosperity in the sector of human development, this includes standard of living, health, safety, and basic necessity one needs to live a stable life. We will compare it to the state of Ghana whose economy has also flourished but has been success in human development.

These new banks came with new innovations, new banking methods and advanced banking technology, customer friendly banking products, etc. Most of the employees of these banks were very young, well educated, smart and highly trained. The banking industry in Nigeria was revolutionized.

The paper overviews the banking sector reforms within the framework of the Nigerian Financial System. A theoretical approach was adopted although empirical evidence was presented in some cases. It was clear that developments in the banking sub-sector of the Nigerian financial system have contributed to some extent in promoting economic growth and development in the country. However, the operations of some of these institutions were characterized by inefficiency and ineffectiveness. It was also found that the challenges facing

In the past two decades, economic analysts and policy makers have recognized that the financial system can significantly contribute to economic growth. Observing the changes that have taken place, a result has arisen that a liberalized financial sector operating in a competitive, open environment with market-based supervision based on international norms, is the best contribution to economic development. The new market-based paradigm for the design of financial systems contrasts with earlier thinking about the appropriate role for official intervention in the financial system. In the past, financial institutions, especially banks, were considered "special" entities in which it was appropriate for governments to intervene regularly in detecting a wide range of economic and social objectives . While, in earlier times, the financial sector differentiated strongly among countries and influenced by national rules .

It is no secret that much of the world has been concerned over the course of the past century with the amount of poverty that is existent in various parts of the globe, and how the rate of poverty seems to only be increasing. Consider the abject poverty and poor economic infrastructure that has been endemic to the countries of Africa for all of the modern era. According to Ana (2007) one of the primary reasons limiting economic expansion in countries such as Nigeria is that basic lack of access to financial capital that is necessary to usher in an era of expansion and prosperity.

The main objective of this paper is to examine the impact of global financial crises on the Nigerian capital market, other specific objectives include;

mechanisms in the last decade in both developed and developing nations. The banking sector in

The banking sector in emerging economies has witnessed major changes to compete, attract international investment and increase capital market growth. Banking crisis usually starts with inability of the bank to meet its financial obligations to its stakeholders. This, in most cases, precipitates runs on banks, the banks and their customers engage in massive credit recalls and withdrawals which sometimes necessitate Central Bank liquidity support to the affected banks. Some terminal intervention mechanisms may occur in the form of consolidation (mergers and acquisitions), recapitalization, use of bridge banks, establishment of asset management companies to assume control and recovery of bank assets, and outright liquidation of non redeemable banks. Bank consolidation, which is at the core of most banking system reform programmes, occurs, some of the time, independent of any banking crisis. Irrespective of the cause, however, bank consolidation is implemented to strengthen the banking system, embrace globalization, improve healthy competition, exploit economies of scale, adopt advanced technologies, raise efficiency and improve profitability(eseoghene,2010). Ultimately, the goal is to strengthen the intermediation role of banks and to ensure that they are able to perform

In Nigeria today, a number of banks wanting to merge may run into difficulties, because most Nigeria banks are not quoted on the stock exchange and the assets of some are really bad. The effect of the merger is that merging banks in the country, under the current dispensation may lose their licenses and be issued new ones to reflect the new consolidated outfit. As we go on in the subsequent chapters, further critical look shall be taken on the effect that this development is likely to or will have on the Nigeria banking industry and the economy at large.

Department of Banking and Finance, Midlands State University, P Bag 9055, Senga, Gweru. 2 Department of Banking, National University of Science and Technology P O Box AC939, Ascot Bulawayo. 3 Department of Banking, National University of Science and Technology P O Box AC939,

Financial System is the most important institutional and functional vehicle for economic transformation of any country. Banking sector is reckoned as a hub and barometer of the financial system. As a pillar of the economy, this sector plays a predominant role in the economic development of the country. The geographical pervasiveness of the bank coupled with the range and depth of their services make the system an indispensable