CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

(f) Evaluate the opportunities for increasing exports of banking services from Nigeria
both within and without the African region
(g) Comment on the challenges to further development of the banking services industry
and of banking services exports
(h) Recommend ways for promoting sector development and increased export of
services.
(i) Review the approaches used by Nigeria in the area of banking services to identify
current best practices for the promotion of the export of banking services by other
African countries.
(j) Make recommendations on how the competitiveness of the banking services sector
can be enhanced through business and trade facilitation, legislative and institutional
capacity strengthening, human resource development, among others.
Methodology
The tasks above that constitute the scope of work were conducted through a variety of
methods involving investigation of the economic and export performance of the banking
sector in Nigeria, based on primary and secondary data gathering as well as interviews with
key banking firms, stakeholders, and national policy makers. Three banks were selected as
case studies to explore the dynamics of cross-border operations in the Nigerian banking
sector. A questionnaire was circulated to them which covered a range of issues regarding
the motivation for their investment in other countries; the role of technology, training, and
other factors in their competitiveness; and others. Only one bank agreed to provide details
on its operations, so information on the others had to be obtained from secondary sources
only.
Organisation of the Report
This report is arranged as follows. The first section is the introduction to the study. The
second section presents an overview of the services sector in Nigeria, detailing services’
contribution to GDP, the role of services in employment creation and trade, and the role that
Nigeria’s investment law and development strategy play in the development of its services
sector. The third section reviews the history of Nigeria’s banking system juxtaposed with the
regulatory and policy environment, whilst it also describes the current banking services
activities in the country through the sector’s performance and in terms of personnel
development and institutions resposible for its development.
The fourth section examines the economic impact of the banking services sector by
discussing the contribution of banking services to GDP, company profit, tax revenue,
employment, and external trade in Nigeria. The fifth section discusses case studies of
successful exports of banking services from Nigeria and how banking services affect trade in
goods. The sixth section assesses factors that account for Nigeria’s comparative advantage in
banking services—such as factor inputs, technology adoption, government’s role, export
promotion, on-the-job training, and export market development. This section presents the
report’s conclusions with respect to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to
Nigeria’s banking services exports. The final section of this study shares lessons and best
practices, and provides recommendations for policy makers.
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