Nigeria banking reforms gain a new impetus: until quite recently, Nigeria, Africa's second biggest banking market after South Africa, was largely an undisciplined, poorly regulated mess. The turnaround began some five years ago when the Central Bank started imposing order. As Moin Siddiqi reports, the weeding and clearing is gathering pace as Basle 2 Accords loom ever closer.

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Nigeria banking reforms gain a new impetus: until quite recently, Nigeria, Africa's second biggest banking market after South Africa, was largely an undisciplined, poorly regulated mess. The turnaround began some five years ago when the Central Bank started imposing order. As Moin Siddiqi reports, the weeding and clearing is gathering pace as Basle 2 Accords loom ever closer.

A lot has changed in the Nigerian financial services industry during the past two decades. The structure and regulatory environment has been improved substantially, especially during the late 1990s, when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was granted autonomy by the administration of General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

The CBN's mandate was freed from political interference, and in addition to its supervisory role, the Bank has assumed responsibility for formulating exchange rate, monetary an...

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