BANK DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY: A POLICY MEASURE FOR A SUSTANABLE BANKING SYSTEM IN POST COVID-19 FINANCIAL CRISES

The Nigerian banking industry acknowledges diversification as a strategy for ensuring financial sustainability. However, the major question is: if this assertion is true to life even with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic? Hence, the present study aimed at eliciting information from the research respondents on their perception on the contributory role of product, service, marketing, and internal growth oriented diversification strategy in ensuring a financially sustainable banking system with a view to formulate strategic policy to address Post COVID-19 financial crises. Accordingly, we shared 600 questionnaires distributed across selected deposit money banks situated in three (3) metropolitan cities of Delta State; the study area. However, 485 questionnaires were retrieved. Data derived from the filed survey was analyzed using the Pearson’s product-moment correlation (PPMC) while the hypotheses were tested using the 95% Pearson Correlation critical value. The result reaffirmed that, the more banks diversify their products, services, marketing activities, and internal dynamics, the more financially sustainable they become. To this end, the study advocate that for Nigerian banks to be financially sustainable in the Post COVID-19 financial crises, they have to shield themselves with product, service, marketing and internal growth oriented strategies as enunciated in this study. Again, bank management should uphold good corporate governance principles as well as frown against all forms of corrupt tendencies, which can inhibit best banking practices in Nigeria