Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
The financial sector is central to any economy of the world, and the ripples of the sector’s downturn are usually felt in all other sectors of the economy. Lin, Sun, and Jiang (2009) hinted that the structure of the financial sector reveals the nature of the productive activities in such economy. It is therefore not surprising that Nigeria like most developing economies, has adopted various forms of policy and institutional reforms since independence to ensure that the sector remains in good health.
The success story is not the same everywhere though, while some countries have been successful in eliminating underlying distortions and restructuring their financial sectors in the beginning of the new millennium, in some cases financial sectors remains underdeveloped (Dileep, Rambabu, & Bhisma, 2007). Financial sector reforms, especially a comprehensive one, would be a turnaround approach to cope up with the threats of global competitiveness in carrying out the financial services. The country has witnessed a wave of reform in the financial sector. It is pertinent to point out at this juncture that financial sector is comprised of banks and non-bank financial institutions (money and capital markets) along with other financial system that supports them.
As the financial reform phenomena advances, so do the understandings of it advance. Financial reform as Gencalo (2011) puts it “is a multifaceted phenomenon”. According to Ebong (2006), they are deliberate policy response to correct perceived or impending financial crises and subsequent failure. In other words, the different interventions of the federal government through the central bank of Nigeria and other financial institutions regulators to enable the financial sector and the economy recover from actual or impending disaster is what is here referred to as financial reform.
On the expectations on financial reforms, Edirisuriya (2008) reported that financial sector reforms are expected to promote a more efficient allocation of resources and ensure that financial intermediation occurs as efficiently as possible. By implication, financial sector reforms brings competition in the financial markets, raises interest rate to encourage savings, thereby making funds available for investment, and hence lead to economic growth (Asamoah, 2008).
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