New Telegraph

Banking Regulation in Africa: Case of Nigeria, other developing economies

The ongoing discourse and calls to improve the banking regulatory regime in Africa received a boost recently with the publication of a book titled: Banking Regulation in Africa: The Case of Nigeria and Other Developing Economies. Banking Regulation in Nigeria remains a topical issue, particularly so, given that the sector has experienced various challenges and episodes of bank failures. Significantly, there have been urgent calls to reform the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 1991, and in November 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the BOFIA, 2020.

Thus, the growing area of interest in banking regulation has led to this much anticipated book, written by Dr. Folashade Adeyemo, a lecturer at the University of Reading, UK. The book pays special attention to the Nigerian banking regulatory environment, however, South Africa, Kenya, the US and UK are also captured as part of this important analysis.

There is recognition of various contributions to the ongoing issue of banking regulation in Nigeria, such as Dr. Oladapo Olanipekun, SAN, who published an edited collection in 2016. Notable contributors to that text included Justice Dr. Nnamdi Dimgba, Prof Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, and Dr. Iwa Salami, Reader, University of East London. Adeyemo builds on the research of these established scholars and provides further insight and analysis of the various banking regulatory bodies including the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation among others.

She examines their significance and responsibilities, provides a very detailed analysis of the recently enacted BOFIA 2020 and its operations within the Nigerian banking system. Dr. Olufemi Amao, Reader in Law, Sussex University, notes in the foreword that: “Providing a comprehensive historical background to the study, Dr. Adeyemo examines the socio-political and economic context from which the Nigerian banking regulatory approach developed.

This contextualises for readers the backdrop for the discussion of the banking failures which plagued the country for decades and also the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on the banking sector.” An Emeritus Professor in Banking and Financial Law, University of Leeds, Professor Andrew Campbell, wrote the preface, noting that: ‘‘Adeyemo has ‘produced a fascinating and thought-provoking work which makes an important and original contribution to the subject of regulating banks in general, and by focusing on regulating banks in developing countries in particular.’’ The book, which is scheduled to be released on December 29, will be launched in March 2022, with Dr. Bolanle Adebola, Associate Professor in Law, University of Reading, as the host.

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