CORRUPTION PERCEPTION AND NET INTEREST MARGIN OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined how corruption affects bank performance in Nigeria. It specifically, understudied the effect of CPI on NIM of DMBs in Nigeria. To achieve this, the study adopted the ex-post facto research design and collated secondary data spanning 1996 to 2022 for the error correction estimation. The findings from the analyses indicate corruption perception index (CPI) exerts a significant effect on the NIM of DMBs in Nigeria. This affirms the grease the wheel theory of corruption which posits that corruption spurs economic activity, hence corporate performance. Following this, the study concludes that corruption grease the corporate performance of DMBs in Nigeria. The study recommends the need to put in place internal control measures to curtail excessive corrupt practices in the banking industry that could derail their financial performance.