Today’s
business environment is very dynamic and undergoes rapid changes as a result of
technological innovation, increased awareness and demands from customers.
Business organisations, especially the banking industry of the 21st century
operates in a complex and competitive environment characterized by these
changing conditions and highly unpredictable economic climate. Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) is at the centre of this global change curve.
Laudon and Laudon, (1991) contend that managers cannot ignore information
Systems because they play a critical role in contemporary organisation. They
point out that the entire cash flow of most fortune 500 companies is linked to
Information System.

The
application of information and communication technology concepts, techniques,
policies and implementation strategies to banking services has become a subject
of fundamental importance and concerns to all banks and indeed a prerequisite
for local and global competitiveness. ICT directly affects how managers decide,
how they plan and what products and services are offered in the banking
industry. It has continued to change the Way bank and their corporate
relationships are organized worldwide and the variety of innovative devices
available to enhance the speed and quality of service delivery.

Harold
and Jeff (1995) contend that financial service providers should modify their
traditional operating practices to remain viable in the 1990s and the decades
that follow. They claim that the most significant shortcoming in the banking
industry today is a wide spread failure on the part of senior management in
bank to grasp the importance of technology and incorporate it into their
strategic plans accordingly. Woherem (2000) claimed that only bank that
overhaul the whole of their payment and delivery systems and apply ICT to their
operations are likely to survive and prosper in the new millennium. He advices
bank to re-examine their service and delivery systems in order to properly
position them within the framework of the dictates of the dynamism of
information and communication technology. The banking industry in Nigeria has
witnessed tremendous changes linked with the developments in ICT over the
years. The quest for survival, global relevance, maintenance of existing market
share and sustainable development has made exploitation of the many advantages
of ICT through the use of automated devices imperative in the industry.

Through
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services available to Jaiz Bank
plc in Kaduna State, it can now give its customers a unified access to manage
their personal financial information. The adoption of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) by this bank has increased its operational efficiencies,
reduced cost through high utilization rates in the ICT environment to ensure
compliance with changing time and to gain competitive advantage (Haggani, 2003).
Methods of handling financial services has to change from old manual
transactions and data processing to a faster, more impactive and highly
efficient electronic data processing and Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) i.e.
deposits, withdrawals, bills-pay-in, purchases of draft, value for cheques,
third party transactions, fund transfer and inquiries are all done
electronically within seconds. The adoption of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) has also helped Jaiz Bank in Kaduna State to keep the pace
with the changing customers’ needs and market dynamics and create a competitive
differentiation in products and services (Haggani, 2003).The complex nature of
the banking system, its products and services have made it necessary for bank
to embrace this change as quick as possible since this medium of banking has
proven to be very efficient in most countries of the world( for example America)and
Nigeria is no exception. Indeed, the impact of ICT has reshaped the banking
industry in terms of providing and delivering impactive and efficient services
to enhance its operations and general performance and does not need to be
overemphasized. This research work is therefore an attempt to determine the
impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on Nigerian Bank
performance.

1.2       Statement of the Problem