Hello Compatriot!!!
Banking in Nigeria started in 1882 when the African banking corporation was established, followed by the establishment of the British bank of west Africa in 1884 to meet the colonial needs of the colonial imperialists.
As the years went by and as the economy expanded, other banks were established and one of the many reasons for their establishment was so they could grant loans to the public and increase their credit which would in turn help them to be self reliant. However, the banks began to come up with stringent policies that made borrowing from them difficult.
Hence, in 1988, the Federal government of Nigeria under the leadership of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, while announcing its budget for the year announced to the celebration of Nigerians all over the federation especially in the rural areas, its decision to establish a bank for traders, farmers and artisans,with an initial allocation of 30 million Naira
The reason for this was simply to bring the banking system closer to the grass root so as to meet the needs of traders and artisans who could not satisfy the heinous collateral requirements of getting loans,the high interest rate attached to the loans from the commercial banks which were even sparsely spread across the country.
After the declaration of the vision in 1988, THE PEOPLE'S BANK OF NIGERIA" was established on October 1st 1989 on the 29th independent day celebration. The first branch was commissioned by General Ibrahim Babangida on the 3rd of October, 1989 at Ajegunle, a popular settlement of small scale business men and women in Lagos.
The bank officially attained its legal status by a formal proclamation of Decree no. 22 of 1990
For the traders to request for loans, it was required that they form trade groups or associations and open savings account with the bank (this was to ensure a high return of the money borrowed) the bank branches increased to a total of 275 in 1994 under several zones.
Dr. Augustus Taiwo Solarin was made the first Chairman while the Managing Director was Mrs.Maria Shokenu.
It was expected of the bank to grant loan access to its grass root customers and accept small deposits from them, so as to enhance their self reliant ability.
Having said all that its important to note that, the Grameen system of banking from Bangladesh was what formed the modus operandi for THE PEOPLE'S BANK OF NIGERIA.
That the core essence of its establishment as a policy of the government was to reach the poor in the country by providing credit for them through loans.
The bank incurred large losses in its first few years despite measures put in place to prevent loss, due to mismanagement and fraud and this was one of the reasons for its winding up.
REFERENCES:
vanguardngr.com/isthepeoplesbankcomingback.
researchgate/bankingforthepoor.
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