LEVERAGING FINANCIAL INCLUSION FOR BANK PROFITABILITY IN NIGERIA (2000–2019)

Abstract

This study examines the banking industry in Nigeria over the period of twenty years (2000-2019) with the aim of empirically examining the relationship between financial inclusion and bank profitability. It made use of the available secondary data for this duration to assess the degree to which financial institutions in the country leveraged on financial inclusions to enhance banking profitability. Time series data spanning the period 2000 to 2019 were collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical bulletin and other secondary sources. The study relied on multiple regression as its major instrument of analysis. The result showed that, the number of commercial bank branches over time was positively associated with bank profitability, while bank average loans to rural communities was negatively related to profitability. The study concludes that, financial inclusion enhanced bank profitability within the period under study. The study therefore recommends that government should foster security in semi-urban and rural areas in order to engender increased financial inclusion and hence bank profitability in the country.