Developing a Framework for Integrating Arbitration Into Nigeria’s Banking Sector

Abstract

Given the evolution of the Nigerian market post the 2005 Bank Consolidation Era, and the 2008 Financial Crisis, there have been some calls for arbitrating banking disputes. This call is yet to be totally embraced because of inherent parties’ bias for referring banking disputes to litigation forum. Similarly, the banking sector, in recent years, witnessed an abysmally low volume of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms. However, with the development of the E-Payment Arbitration Framework by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), arbitration appears to be getting deserved recognition by the regulator. Also, the various Multi-Door Courthouses can develop a system that can resolve banking disputes using their existing procedural framework while we await holistic statutory provisions on the subject matter.

Keywords: Arbitration, Banking, Dispute Resolution, Nigeria