ABSTRACT
Values-driven communication practices are crucial in times of economic downturns—more so whenever such situations affect an industry whose credibility waned from 2008 to 2010 because inappropriate banking practices undermined public trust and confidence in that industry. This case study examines various communication strategies and tactics used by both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the country’s banking and financial industry to reassure skittish, jittery publics—investors and everyday customers—that the nation’s banking sector is still worthy of its credibility even after it violated several banking regulations and was affected by a faltering global financial system. The Central Bank of Nigeria quickly went into an offensive, injecting billions of naira into a fragile banking industry and consolidating the industry by reducing the number of banks from 80 to 24 over several months before the crisis. Communication practitioners in the industry launched a series of publicinformation campaigns to restore the stability of the industry and to reassure the nation that a crisis-ridden industry is still viable. Finally, to inform future actions that can engender customer confidence in the industry and guide practitioners’ further investigations into how best to strengthen and expand their values-driven practice on behalf of an industry in an emerging economy, this case presents propositions as codas to corporate strategies for a more effective crisis communication.
