IN SPITE of government’s measures to shore up the fortunes of the banks, about two-third of Nigerians lack faith in the banking sector, according to a survey by the NOI Polls.

Since 2009, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has  embarked on a flurry of reforms to enhance the quality of banks, establish financial stability, enable healthy financial sector evolution and ensure that the financial sector contributes to the real economy.

Despite the ongoing reforms in the sector, nearly six in 10 Nigerians lack confidence in the Nigerian banking sector, the survey said.

With links to former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, NOI Polls is a Nigeria-based opinion research organization, which works in technical partnership with Gallup Polls (USA), to conduct periodic opinion polls on various socioeconomic issues in Nigeria.

Respondents for the snap polls were randomly selected from a database of phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 and above across the six geopolitical zones in the country, compiled by NOI Polls. 1024 people took part in the telephone interviews conducted from the 23rd and 25th of August, 2010.

Asked if they had confidence in the Nigerian banking sector, only 11 % of the respondents expressed confidence in the sector (Agree and strongly agree) while 58%) said they lacked confidence in the sector (Disagree and strongly disagree).

And 24 % neither had confidence nor lacked confidence in the sector, while 7% did not know if they had or lacked confidence in the banking sector.

The results show a marked reduction in confidence levels when compared to a similar survey conducted by NOI Polls one year ago (August 2009), around the start of the reforms. In that survey, a total of 71 % of the respondents expressed confidence in the banking sector (Agree and strongly agree), compared to 11% in 2010; while only 17% lacked confidence (Disagree and strongly disagree), compared to 58% in 2010. 12% did not know if they had or lacked confidence in the banking sector, compared to