CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The Nigeria economy got in power till 1986 a highly regulated economy with local, state and federal government owing a large value proportion of the national economy.
However, with the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in August 1986. The national economy was deregulated and most of the control were abolished while the price mechanisms system or the market force system was introduced to determine the price of goods and services. Before the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), the banking industry, like other sector of the economy was owned largely and controlled by the government.
The sector was dominated by those referred to as the Big four i.e. Union Bank, Afribank, UBA and First Bank. However with deregulation of the economy brought about the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), many private participants entered the industry. The competition brought by those banks offered some basic services some of the service offered by bank are receiving deposit of customers, collecting cheques of customers drawn on themselves. From this traditional function developed other services referred to as services banking. It is a related banking services and now banking activities.
A list of services offered by banks include acceptance and safe keeping of deposits and other valuable, granting of loans and overdraft to customers, transfer of funds business services foreign exchange services, money creation, cashing credit facility, project financing service funds transfer outside and within Nigeria, letter of credit and foreign currency domiciliary account etc.
Finally, these services benefit both the provide (Bank and the receive customers) as well as the economy without them bank cannot be in business and the economy will not grow individuals and corporate activities will also be hampered. It is based on these facts that bank services become very vital even before the advent of modern banking activities.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
i. To present the level of competition in the banking industry calls for strategies that will win the customer over.
ii. To understand what is purchasing what are services and how banks market their products called services. These are some of the areas this research emphasis much on.
iii. Ways bank can survive and have a sustainable share of market, it must be able to properly and profitable market it products.
iv. To also understand at the end of this research why banks are struggling to stay afloat in the turbulent business environment.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• To examine the purchasing strategies employed by bank in retaining existing customers and attracting new ones.
• To critically examine the various financial services offered by banks to measure the effectiveness of the purchasing activities employed by the banks also the objective that are intended to be achieved.
• To inquire into the cause of negative perception on the bank by the public.