E-banking and Bank Performance: Evidence from Nigeria

The resultant of technological innovation has been the transformation in operational dimension of banks over some decades. Internet technology has brought about a paradigm shift in banking operations to the extent that banks embrace internet technology to enhance effective and extensive delivery of wide range of value added products and services. However, the fact that e-banking is fast gaining acceptance in Nigerian banking sector does not assuredly signify improved bank performance nor would conspicuous use of internet as a delivery channels make it economically viable, productive or profitable. Whether progression is made in the use of internet technology (e-banking) or not, there should be parameter to empirically assess its impact over specified period of adoption. Consequently, the study examined the impact of electronic banking on banks’ performance in Nigeria. Panel data comprised annual audited financial statements of eight banks that have adopted e-) and retained their brand name banking between 2000 and 2010 as well as macroeconomic control variables were employed to investigate the impact of e-banking on return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and net interest margin (NIM). Result from pooled OLS estimations indicate that e-banking begins to contribute positively to bank performance in terms of ROA and NIM with a time lag of two years while a negative impact was observed in the first year of adoption. It was recommended that investment decision on electronic banking should be rational so as to justify cost and revenue implications on bank performance.