Credit Risk Management Evaluation and Bank Management Effectiveness: 1995–2015 Dimensionality

Abstract

Credit risk management is central to the success or failure of a banking institution because banks earn the greatest quantum of their interest income from interest on loans which represents a critical component of a bank’s profitability. Therefore, any carelessness with regard to credit risk management automatically results to creating huge nonperforming loans which often prepares the grounds for bank distress or failure. In the 1990s and specifically in 1995, 50 percent of 120 banks became technically distressed, as they were characterized by poor management and weak liquidity ratio. For example, in 1995, the ratio of nonperforming loans to total loans was about 33 percent compared to about 5 percent in 2015, and the average liquidity ratio of banks in 1995 was 0.49, against 58.18 in 2015. Also the loans, to deposit ratio in 1995 was 58.4 and 73.21 in 2015, while the number of banks with average liquidity ratio of less than 30 percent was 50 in 1995 against 1 in 2015. Distress persisted in the Nigerian banking system in the 1990s with dwindling profitability and the erosion of shareholders’ equity. In 1995, the adjusted shareholders funds was – N8791.1million against N3,240 billion in 2015, while the capital to total risk weighted asset ratio was about 67.18 percent in 1995 and only about 17.66 percent in 2015. In 1995, the ratio of nonperforming loans to shareholders’ funds was about 496 percent against about 13 percent in 2015. These major performance indicators showed that there was improved credit risk management and bank management effectiveness after 1995 until 2015. The expo-facto research design was employed for the study and the result showed strong positive relationship between credit risk evaluation management and bank management effectiveness. The study was not exhaustive, and further research could examine the relationship between regulatory efficiency and the performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. The board of directors of banks should always take measures to avoid lending arrangements over and above the repayment capacity of borrowers to reduce the creation of nonperforming loans.