ABSTRACT
The benefits to be derived by financial institutions especially banks by
investing in information technology cannot be over-emphasized. In this era
of post consolidation, banks need to be continuously innovative and have a
strong retail and e-business vision in order to stay ahead of competition.
Today competition has compelled most banks to drop their age-long
tradition of conservatism, slowness and long reaction time to business
opportunities and customer requests. IT department will be driven by
business imperatives; it will be pro-active, timely, flexible, simple, scalable
and cost effective.
For the purpose of this study, some selected banks in the industry
were chosen. They include the staff and customers of United Bank of Africa
Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Related literature was
reviewed to ascertain other writers’ views concerning the subject matter.
Questionnaires were used to elicit responses from the sample elements and
were further analyzed with tables, percentage and test of hypothesis. Also
interviews were conducted. Against this background, valuable and reliable
discoveries were made. It was discovered that investment in IT and
incorporation of its policies and programmers is a ‘sine qua non’ to the
continuous existence and survival of most banks in the present millennium
and reposition them to face competition in the industry in terms of:
• Speedy and timely reached management decisions both in
opportunities exploration and corporate management.
• Delivering prompt services to their customers to meet customers’
expectations.
