Marketing of banking services in Nigeria

This paper (which was originally presented at the 2001 World Services Congress in Hong Kong, 19–21 September) traces the origins of marketing in Nigerian banking and shows how different economic, social and political environments have influenced the marketing of financial services in Nigeria. It argues that the future of the banking market in Nigeria will, in the main, depend on the ongoing integration of the country into the global market. With the return of the international banks, multinational and foreign companies and missions are likely to favour such banks for their banking transactions. The implication of this is that banks with little or no foreign ownership structures will gradually be forced to concentrate on the indigenous market. Unless the government can put its house in order quickly and ensure a stable macroeconomic environment for economic development, it is likely that market forces will cause several of these indigenous banks to merge their activities or be absorbed by the big international banks.