IMPROVING CUSTOMERS SERVICES IN NIGERIAN COMMERCIAL BANKS

1.0 Introduction

It will be necessary to elucidate more on the worlds, customer, bank, banking business, bankers, commercial bank and services.

Who Is A Bank Customer:

Almost invariably, anybody who has anything to do in the bank, no matter the nature, seeing himself as a bank customer at least as much as he is within the banking premises.

Commercial prudence also dictate that the bank affords its best attention to all and sundry, what ever the type of relationship they may seem to be having with the bank.

But the question now is who then amongst those people are customers, and if some are not customers what are they?

In great Western Railway Company limited .V London and Country banking company limited (1901), it was held that a person who has been cashing cheques from the dependent bank, on this employers over many years was not a customer of the bank by his mere cashing of cheques.

There must be more than a mere cashing of cheques.

It simply means that anyone who is not having an account with the bank cannot be regarded as a bank customer. Furthermore, there must be a time when someone began to be a customer.

A person can becomes a customer of a bank when he goes to the bank with money or a cheque and asked to have an account opened in his name and the bank accepts the money or a cheque, and is prepared to open an account in the name of the person.

What Is Bank:

Dr. H. Hart define bank as “ a person or company carrying on the business of receiving monies and collecting drafts for customer subjected to the obligation of honoring cheques drawn upon them from time to time by customers to the extent of the amount available on their current account.

In addition to that, section 41 of the Nigerian banking act of 1962 define a bank as any person who carries on banking business and includes a commercial bank, an acceptance account, financial institution and merchant banks.

What Is Banking Business:

Section 41 of the Nigerian Banking Act of 1962 also defined banking business as the business of receiving monies form outside sources as deposits of payment of interest in the granting of money loans and acceptance of credit or the purchase of bills and cheques or the purchase and sale of securities for account or other of the incurring of the obligation to acquire claims in respect of loans prior to their maturity or the assumption of guarantee and other warranties for other or the effecting of transfer and clearing and such other transactions as the commissioner, may on the recommendation of central bank, by other published in the gazette, designate as banking business.

Section 61 of the banks another financial institution decree on 25 of 1991 (BOFID) defined banking business as “the business of receiving deposits on current account, paying or collecting cheques, drawn by or paid in by customers, provision of finance or such other business as the gazette, designated as banking business”.

What Is A Banker:

Over the years it has been a very difficult task to give a true meaning and definition to the word “Banker” as people misconceive it to be worker in the bank.

However, J.N. Gilbert defined a banker as “a dealer in capital or more properly in money.

He is an intermediate party between the borrower and the lender.

He borrows from one party and lends to the other.

G.I Bert in his definition lays emphasis meanly on the traditional functions of bank (ie) probilisation of deposits and granting of loans and advances.

The bill of exchange act of 1882 defined a banker as “A body of persons whether incorporated or not, who carry’s on the business of banking “the bankers books of evidence act 1879 defined a banker as “any person, persons, partnership or company carrying on the business of banking and having duly make a return to the commissioner of Inland revenue and also any saving bank certified under the act relating to savings bank and also any post office saving bank.

However, from these definitions one can conclude that a banker is any person or corporation that provide a minimum banking services and which is license as a bank by the federal government of Nigeria as a banking institution.

What Is A Commercial Bank:

Commercial banks are looked upon as those banks in Nigeria that accept deposits and uses cheques for withdrawals, examples of such bank are:

1. Access bank Nigeria limited
2. Afric bank limited
3. African continental bank
4. All state trust banks
5. Citizen bank Nigeria limited.

1.1 Objective / Aims Of The Study:

Firstly, the researcher aimed at determining the problems of commercial banking in Nigeria.

Secondly, to evaluate the functions and duties of commercial banks to their customers.

Lastly, to highlight the avenues for improving customers services in Nigeria commercial bank.

1.2 Significance Of The Study:

The researcher has patterned to create awareness on commercial bank with regard to their problem.

It will be used in helping the commercial bank in identifying the causes of customer’s leisure and ways of barricading them.

This will of no doubt if achieved help to maximize profit because the higher the customers the higher the profit.

It will equally help the customer to identify those common areas of conflicts with their bank to help transact peacefully.

1.3 Brief History Of Commercial Bank:

In Nigeria, banking came with the advent of the British Colonists.

The introduction of the first modern banking dated back to 1992 when the African banking corporation was established in Lagos at the invitation of elder demporter and company.

African Banking Corporation was based in South Africa but merely opened a branch office in Lagos to finance the shipping business of elder deporter company who was operating stream ship services between liver pool and the West Coast of Africa.

Probably, as a result of the good performance of the banking corporation another bank opened its branch office in Lagos in 1894.

The bank was the British West Africa bank now known as first bank Nigeria plc which was registered in London in 1892 with and authorized capital of 100,000 pounds.

This bank enjoyed the monopoly over banking business in Nigeria until 1916.

Until this date, however the British silver currency in West Africa as issued by the West African Currency board, which was established in 1912.

The bank of British west Africa remained dominant in the field until 1916 when the Colonial bank which was mere aggressive in the business of banking was established.

As a result of its dynamism, the bank opened fifteen branches within four years of its establishment in West Africa.

In 1925, the assets and liabilities of this bank were taken over by a cons or tium of banks comprising Barclays bank, Anglo Egyptian bank and the National bank of South Africa to from a new bank named Barclays bank, dominion, Colonial and over seas (D.O).

This new bank had to change its name and late to Union bank of Nigeria plc.

Other expatriate bank such as united bank for Africa (UBA), bank of India bank of America and chase innattant bank were later introduced into Nigeria.

The colonial government and businessmen established these banks and on such, they were mainly catering for the interest of expatriate the indigenous men and women and their enterprises were severally discriminated against.

This discriminatory attitude of these foreign banks led to the first known protest by the Nigerian business community.

This was followed by an appeal from the native traders of Lagos to the financiers from Great Britain when they visited Lagos in 1912.

The height of these was the establishment in Lagos of the first indigenous bank in 1929.

This protest “motivated “bank which was established primarily to moderate the effects of the discriminatory credit and investment policies of the expatriate bank against the indigenous enterprises went into liquidation in 1930. In 1931, another indigenous bank banking institution, the Nigerian merchant bank was formed with an initial paid up capital of N3, 400.

Its total deposit did not exceed N5000 before it voluntarily liquidate in 1936.

This bank had the same managing director with the fist indigenous bank (the industrial and commercial bank) that liquidate in 1980.

The features of these banks were largely due to inadequate capital, inexperienced management and inefficient and crude accounting methods, as well as the prevailing economic depression at that time.

In spite of these woeful features the determination of Nigerians to own, control and manage their own banks continued.

However, successful indigenous banking efforts in Nigeria thus began with the establishment of the National bank of Nigeria limited in 1993.

The bank started with a normal capital of N20000 and paid up capital grew from N2, 046 in 1936 to N29, 108 in 1946.

The next successful established indigenous bank founded by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1947.

Other successful indigenous banks were established after wards.