ABSTRACT

The establishment and promotion of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) by the Central Bank of Nigeria is prompted by the need for a special purpose vehicle to free banks of their toxic asset burden and restore public confidence in the financial service industry. Hence, the establishment of AMCON constitutes the critical step towards the resolution of the problems hampering the performance of Nigerian banks. This study examined the impact of CBN Bailout Policy on the Performance of Bridged Banks in Nigeria. The study adopt experimental ex-post facto design to evaluate the impact of CBN bailout policy on the performance of bridged-banks in Nigeria. The sample size of this study consists of the three deposit money banks (Keystone, Enterprise and Mainstream banks) designated by the CBN as bridged or nationalized banks as at 2010. The study employed secondary sources of data due to the quantitative nature of the research and the design in use. Matched- sampled t-test was used to compare means obtained from the pre and post bail out data for a period of five years (2005-2009) years before and (2010-2014) after the policy.

The study found that the CBN bailout policy has not significantly improved the performance of the bridged banks during the period of the study. Specifically, the results indicated that there is no significant improvement in public confidence in the banks, as indicated by the lower levels of customer deposits after the bailout policy. Moreover, the findings show that there is increase in the risk assets quality of the banks during the period, as shown by the significant decrease in the ratio of non-performing loans and advances after the bailout policy. Therefore, there is no significant evidence that the bailout has improved the other performance variables (capital adequacy, deposit mobilization, profitability and liquidity). The study, therefore, recommends that governments and regulatory agencies should increase efforts to restore the public confidence in the bridged banks.

It is also recommended that, the banking public and investors should increase their patronage to the bridged banks, as there are adequate assurances that their monies are safe, because the banks are under direct government control and supervision. Lastly, the banks‟ management and regulators should embark on mass awareness about the current status of the banks to eliminate fear from the mind of customers about their wealth. Moreover, the managers of the banks should increase their efforts and adopt different strategies that could enhance their profitability.