ABSTRACT

This Study examined the effect of bank merger and acquisition on lending to small scale business in Abia state, Nigeria. Poor knowledge of the extent and the directions of the impacts of bank consolidations on small business lending have led to significant counterproductive policies capable of pulling down the entire economy in near future in Nigeria, his is the problem; running an economy through assumption is costly and quite risky. The main objective of the study is to determine the effect of bank mergers and acquisitions on lending to small business borrowers in Abia State, Nigeria, while the specific objectives of this study sought to determine the extent of the impact of changes in consolidated banks' deposits on small business lending in Abia State. The data collected were from secondary source using an Ex-post Facto research design. The collected were then tabulated and revealed and analyzed using simple and multiple regression analysis. The findings were summarized that Changes in consolidated banks' deposits has, a significantly impact on small business lending and Changes in consolidated banks' deposits has a significantly impact on small business lending. Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made; Merger and acquisition is a strategic tool that must be cautiously applied and implemented. The maturation period of the merger must be allowed so that the financial records of the intending firms coming together can be properly scrutinized by the board of directors of each firm and the regulatory agencies and more over Merger and acquisition is supposed to be an intention of which either of the parties to the merger/acquisition can opt-out if hanky-panky (fraud or deceit) is discovered as being perpetuated.