Abstract

The Nigerian banking industry plays a critical role in its economy because of a number of jobs generated, contributing to financial stability due to the financial services provided by the banks. As Nigeria becomes tirelessly active in its pursuit of global economic integration and recognition, the entry of international banks in the Nigerian banking industry will increase, therefore, competition will, too. As a result, recognising the importance of competencies and competency frameworks to the bank's performance becomes important in improving the bank’s core competencies and competitiveness. A critical review of the literature reveals that many researchers lay emphasis on the importance of competencies on performance. However, there is a lack of empirical study on competence in Nigerian banks. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of competencies on the performance of Nigerian banks.
In order to achieve this aim, the researcher conducted a field survey of ten Nigerian banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the use of qualitative semi-structured interviews. The researcher conducted thirty-one interviews with the staff of the ten selected banks and the CBN. Consequently, the interview data collected was analysed using Nvivo in order to achieve the aim of the research.
The findings revealed that Nigerian banks do use competencies which are influencing the performance of the banks. Findings from this research support the findings of other international research on competencies; therefore, suggesting the theory of competency and performance applies to Nigerian banks. This research contributes to existing literature, which highlights the strategic and operational importance of competencies on performance by focusing on Nigerian banks. In conclusion, this research proposes a wider sample size covering all the banks in Nigeria and using both qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide a more accurate finding on the influence of competency in Nigerian banks.