Banking policy, banks efficiency and job security in Nigeria

Nigerian banking industry has been experiencing series of reforms from the colonial era to date. Though, the banking reforms in Nigeria were intended to make the banks flourish, reliable and strong enough to finance other key sectors of the Nigerian economy. These objectives challenge the banks operating in the country in terms of their business sustainability, employee job security and customers' satisfaction. This article provides a chronological overview of banking reforms, implementation, supervisory role of the apex bank and banks' performance in Nigeria. The current study adopted a critical examination of literature on banking policies, supervisory role of the apex bank and banks performance in Nigeria to establish the influence of banking reforms on banks effectiveness and job security. The quantitative data in the Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin were extracted and analysed. The results show that banking reforms in terms of recapitalisation of banks contributed significantly to the performance of the financial sector in Nigeria as it enabled expansion of the banking network. The capital base enhances banks' purchasing power in acquiring the IT applications required to fully integrate into electronic banking operations in Nigeria. There were high levels of retrenchment of experienced bankers to reduce the wage bills. Conversely, demand for fresh graduates during the post-consolidation period was high in the banking sector. This study recommends that the reserve bank should also regulate the issue of employee job insecurity in the banking industry.