Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Bank Performance Before and During COVID-19: Empirical Evidence of Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed Information Communication Technology (ICT) and bank performance before and during COVID-19: Empirical evidence of Nigeria. The urgent need for ICT in banking subsector was unavoidable in Nigeria to meet daily liquidity needs and ease business transactions.  Panel data comprised pooled Least Square (PLS), Fixed Effects Model (FEM) and Random Effects Model (RAM), which were adopted for a period of ten (10) years (2011 – 2020). The choice of adopting the appropriate model could be traced to Hauman test outcome. The secondary source of data was from financial statements of thirteen (13) purposively sampled banks. Findings showed a mixed marginal influence of ICT on bank performance in Nigeria and were statistically significant. The study concluded that banks’ financial products / services were fully supported and driven more by information communication-technology before and during recent temporary lockdown in Nigeria. The paper recommended that regulators and policymakers should review and implement information-technology vis-à-vis Fin-Tech policies as incomparable mechanism to improve bank performance in case of any uncertainties in the nearest future.

Keywords: Information Communication Technology, Bank Performance, COVID-19, Return on assets, Nigeria.

JEL Classification: C1, C23, C83, G2, O17

DOI: 10.7176/IKM/11-4-13

Publication date:October 31^st 2021