THE EFFECTS OF BANK FRAUD AND PERFORMANCE DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA [A STUDY OF FIRST BANK. PLC, ENUGU STATE]

The fight against extreme poverty has been at the front burner of global discourse for a very long time. Poverty is deemed as a state of deprivation but more specifically, where an individual or group has insufficient income for securing basic goods and services. Microfinance has been globally acknowledged as a vehicle that drives the poor out of extreme poverty zone. This study set out to examine the impact of microfinance banks activities on poverty alleviation in Nigeria. The sample size is 20 microfinance banks selected randomly. This study employed the inferential multiple linear regression model to capture the impact of microfinance banks activities in poverty alleviation in Nigeria. It adopted the regression models used by Usiton and Ezeany Eji (2017) by modifying the model and incorporating poverty index as dependent variable while access to MBFs, Deposit liabilities of MBFs, loans of MBFs and employment rate in Nigeria as explanatory variables. In conclusion, the impact of MBFs on poverty alleviation in Nigeria is a very complex but prioritizing avenue for social economic development. Through the provision of financial services to the unbarked and observed population, MBFs have demonstrated the potential of empower individual, entrepreneurship and communities economically. The evidence from this research suggests that access to MBFs facilities entrepreneurship, income generation and the creation of small scale enterprise, hereby contributing to poverty alleviation. Recommendations were offered. Further study on this subject is highly encouraged.