Examined here are the legal and practical reasons for the inefficiency of the legal framework of creditor protection in Nigeria. This is amply justified considering the critical role of credit in the promotion of economic growth and development and also bearing in mind the near calamitous consequences the 2009 financial crisis unleashed not only among Nigerian banks and financial institutions, and in the international financial system. The latter nearly led to socioeconomic catastrophe in Nigeria, as well as globally. It is hoped that book is found useful by government, policy makers, academics, corporate financial experts, investment bankers and other stakeholders to initiate and implement efficient policy actions to protect creditors in order to sustain the flow of credit, the engine of any economy.

Abstract: Creditor-friendly laws are generally associated with more credit to the private sector and deeper financial markets. But laws mean little if they are not upheld in the courts. The authors hypothesize that the effectiveness of creditor rights is strongly linked to the efficiency of contract enforcement. This hypothesis is tested using firm level data on 27 European countries in 2002 and 2005. The analysis finds that firms have more access to bank credit in countries with better creditor rights, but the association between creditor rights and bank credit is much weaker in countries with inefficient courts. Exploiting the panel dimension of the data and the fact that creditor rights change over time, the authors show that the effect of a change in creditor rights on change in bank credit increases with court enforcement. In particular, a unit increase in the creditor rights index will increase the share of bank loans in firm investment by 27 percent in a country at the 10th percentile of the enforcement time distribution (Lithuania). However, the increase will be only 7 percent in a country at the 80th percentile of this distribution (Kyrgyzstan). Legal protections of creditors and efficient courts are strong complements.

Examined here are the legal and practical reasons for the inefficiency of the legal framework of creditor protection in Nigeria. This is amply justified considering the critical role of credit in the promotion of economic growth and development and also bearing in mind the near calamitous consequences the 2009 financial crisis unleashed not only among Nigerian banks and financial institutions, and in the international financial system. The latter nearly led to socioeconomic catastrophe in Nigeria, as well as globally. It is hoped that book is found useful by government, policy makers, academics, corporate financial experts, investment bankers and other stakeholders to initiate and implement efficient policy actions to protect creditors in order to sustain the flow of credit, the engine of any economy.

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.

Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.

This Investment Policy Review examines Nigeria’s investment policies in light of the OECD Policy Framework for Investment (PFI), a tool to mobilise investment in support of economic growth and sustainable development.

Written by IMF's Legal Department, this book outlines the key issues involved in designing and implementing orderly and effective insolvency procedures, which play a critical role in fostering growth and competitiveness and may also assist in the prevention and resolution of financial crises. The book draws on lessons learned from firsthand experience by some of the IMF's 182 member countries. It includes an analysis of the major policy choices that countries need to address when designing an insolvency system, a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these choices, and a number of specific recommendations.