This book offers a valuable guide to one of the most challenging areas of commercial law, now frequently referred to as secured transactions, with a focus on Nigerian, Canadian and United States perspectives. A debtor’s ability to provide collateral influences not only the cost of the money borrowed, but also in many cases, whether secured lenders are willing to offer credit at all. The book proposes that increasing access to, and indeed, lowering the cost of credit could tremendously boost economic development, while at the same time arguing that this would best be achieved if the legal framework for secured transactions in Nigeria, and of course, any other country with similar experiences, were designed to allow the use of personal property and fixtures to secure credit. Similarly, the creation, priority, perfection, and enforcement of security interests in personal property should be simplified and supported by a framework that ensures that neither the interests of secured lenders nor debtors are hampered, so as to guarantee the continuous availability of affordable credit as well as debtors’ willingness to borrow and do business. The book further argues that in addition to the obvious preference for real property over personal property by secured lenders due to the unreformed secured-transactions legal framework in Nigeria, its compartmentalized nature has also resulted in unpredictability in commerce and the concomitant effects of poor access to credit. Through the comparative research conducted in this book utilizing the UCC Article 9 and Ontario PPSA as benchmarks, the author provides reformers with a repository of tested secured-transactions law solutions, which law reformers in the Commonwealth countries in Africa and beyond, as well as the business community will find valuable in dealing with issues that stem from secured transactions.

Over the last few decades, many countries have reformed their secured transactions law. One of the main reasons has been the clear link between reform and the availability of credit, and the drive to improve access to finance, particularly for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. This book focuses particularly on developing economies in Africa, which have legal frameworks influenced by English, French, Belgian, Roman-Dutch and other laws. Reform in this area of law across African countries has taken a number of forms, which are explored and discussed in this book. Secured Transactions Law Reform in Africa is a mixture of a critical description of the pre-reform law and practice, and the reform process itself. It also includes a comparative analysis of the legal provisions and an examination of the early results of the reforms. The book sets out a road map for the future of secured transactions reform; primarily in Africa, but also in other countries that have undertaken or are contemplating similar reforms. This book is the second in a series of books about Secured Transactions Law in countries around the world, and its reform, both on a national and an international scale. The first book, Secured Transactions Law Reform: Principles, Policies and Practice, was published in 2016.

This cutting-edge Handbook presents an overview of research and thinking in the field of secured financing, examining international standards and best practices of secured transactions law reform and its economic impact. Expert contributors explore the

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