The Effect of Bank Consolidation on Bank Performance: A Case Study of the 2005 Concluded Nigerian Bank Consolidation Exercise

Abstract

The banking sector is one of the few sectors in which the shareholders’ funds is only a small proportion of the liabilities of the enterprise; the banking sector is one of the most regulated sector in any economy as is the case in Nigeria. This is to forestall the confusion and consequences of bank failures and distresses. The consolidation of banks has been the major policy instrument being adopted in correcting deficiencies in the financial sectors in the world all over and hence the 2005 concluded bank consolidation exercise in Nigeria. It also explains why there have been continued research emphases on finding out how the benefits arising from consolidation has been optimized. Most of the previous studies on the subject, however, made use of data from United States of America, Europe and advanced Asian countries. Such studies undermined the peculiarities of and differences in the operating environments and changing dynamics of business in most developing countries, The objectives of this work are: - To ascertain if the 2005 concluded consolidation has improved the profitability of consolidated banks; to find out if the 2005