ABSTRACT.
The establishment of commercial banks is not legislatively or decree compelled but should be seen as a measure to persuade the institution to take the advantage of exploiting and utilizing economic and social facilities. This study is aimed at identifying the role of commercial banks in export promotion in Nigeria, highlighting the various roles that commercial banks left contributed towards Nigeria match for growth and development in export promotion. This study focused attention on the general operations of the commercial bank its historical structure and back ground for effective and accurate assessment of the commercial banks.
The study further reviewed the objective and role of commercial banks to export promotion and appraised its performance and also expose its problems and make recommendation. Materials for the study were sources purely from secondary data.
PREFACE.
The Nigeria economy is presently in a great distress and dilemma. The economy was plunged into this agonizing guang mainly due to over reliance on one export commodity oil. Suddenly, the price of crude oil dropped in the international market. This reflected sharply in the level of adverse balance of payment problems. The major concern of this study is to reveal how commercial banks can help in promoting exports and stimulating economic growth. The federal Government has taken liberal measures to streamline the structure of the commercial banking activities. A discount window for financing exports have been established by the federal minister of finance, export credit guarantee and insurance scheme is being designed by the federal ministry of finance to stimulate export financing. In particular, the federal ministry of finance has been made an autonomous institution while commercial banks are now allowed to take equity interest in small-scale enterprises.
CHAPTER ONE.
INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.
The topic “Role of commercial banks in export promotion in Nigeria” is about the major economic issues namely, export trend in Nigeria role of commercial banks in the promotion of exportable goods and services, and the contribution of commercial banks towards economic development.
Export promotion is used here, involves all those services provided by commercial banks and non – banking sectors to facilitate the production of goods and services outside the country. It involves a process which begins at the production level and terminate at the point of consumption Nigeria has derived great benefit from international trade. Foreign goods, both capital and consumer goods not produced in the country have been acquired and paid for from Nigerians export earnings.
The importance of export promotion especially in Nigeria cannot be over emphasized. After the discovery of oil in 1956, it gradually came to dominate the export sector, oil therefore became the single most important item of export. Figures released by the federal office of statistics show that “Export of all items from the country in the half of 1995 had recorded about = N = 16,384.9 billion, out of this petroleum product amounted to = N = 14.365 – 8 billion. In percentage terms, oil exports represented 90.5 percent while other items had 5 neglible 9.5 percent.
As at 1980, oil accounted for about 98% of our exports with Nigeria exporting 2.3 millions barrel per day was produced and sold at only $20.25 per barrel. The economy was 96% depending on oil revenue as her foreign exchange earner. But unfortunately, the revenue from oil was never commensurably, reflected either in the extent of the job creation and other preferred multiplier or linkage effect on the economy. Soon the price of oil began to decline resulting from the pressive from the American international agency and other manipulation of the organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC). Oil glut gvots sales and sales and continous price decline because the other of the day.
