ABSTRACT

The importance of financial services is self- evident for the well being of economies as well as societies. It is not news to even the most casual observer of the financial services industry that these are challenging times for financial institutions. The pace of change and the growing complexity around are breath taking. According to the central bank of Nigeria (CBN bulletin 2006), the major providers of financial services are banks, next to mortgage credit companies and insurance companies. Banks, in this context are commercial retail banks, offering a wide range of financial services and even insurance (Cheverton, 2004). The main functions of bankS are, according to Encyclopedia Britannica (2006), the provision of loans and the acceptance of deposits. Banks serve both industrial markets and corporate customers. Corporate customers uses banks for issuing finance instruments and derivatives (Cheverton, 2004). The Nigeria banking industry in the past few years has witnessed considerable changes, due to the consolidation reform programme launched 0 by the former (CBN) Governor, Professor Charles Soludo on the 6t1i of July S 2004. He state that the minimum capital for commercial bank in Nigeria has been raised by a quantum proportion from #2 billion to #25 billion.