Perceptions of Bank Employees and Customers on the Prevalence of Unethical Business Practices in the Banks in Ibadan, Nigeria

This study investigated the perceptions of bank employees and customers on the prevalence of unethical business practices in Nigerian banks in Ibadan. It adopted a  descriptive survey research design. Two (2) research questions were raised and answered in the study. A total of One hundred (100) respondents (50 bank employees and 50 bank customers) within Ibadan were study participants. They responded to a researcher-developed instrument, the “Perceptions of Bank Unethical Business Practices Assessment Scale (Bankers’ version; r =0.90 and Customers’ version; r =0.92) used to collect data. Each of the instrument versions was divided into two sections of A and B, with a total of 20 items each. Data were analysed using simple percentages. Results revealed that unethical practices are prevalent in Nigerian banks, to the knowledge of the
bank employees. It also revealed that bank customers acknowledged the prevalence of unethical banking practices in the banks. The study recommended among others, that unethical practices like unauthorized tampering with customers account and other ugly practices occurring in the banks should be stopped. The Central Bank of Nigeria should instill tougher disciplinary actions against erring banks and their Chief Executive Officers, as this would go a long way to further mitigate the rising tide of unethical practices in the Nigerian banking sector.

Keywords: Unethical business practices, Bank employees’ and Bank customers’ perceptions of unethical practices