The Nigerian Banking Sector Reforms: Power and Politics (Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions) / Seth Apati

With over $400 billion looted from the porous banking sector of Africa's oil-rich giant, Nigeria, banking sector
reform is a key priority for the Central Bank and the newly-elected civilian regime, to attract foreign investors.
However, several vested institutional and political interests make the reforms a herculean and near impossible task.

After a hastily-designed economic policy and a banking industry consolidation which reduced the number of banks from 89 to 25 in 2 years, the regulators discover that the quest for size has created more problems for the banks. Was the consolidation successful? Did it positively impact on Nigeria's economic reform program? And how did the US, the IMF and the World Bank contribute to the outcome?

This book presents an almost minute-by-minute chronicle of the politics and intrigues, from a key boardroom participant who was actively involved in the restructuring of the Nigerian banking industry. It examines the corruption, regulatory challenge, and financial sector reforms in the world's largest black economy. Giving a vivid account of how the banking sector in Nigeria prospered at the expense of the overall economy, the book traces the origins of the Nigerian banking reform, the dynamics of its banking sector, and future outlook of this emerging market - a country that aims to be one of the 20th largest economies in the world by 2020.