EFFECT OF PLACEMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN SOUTH EAST, NIGERIA.

The study examined the effect of placement on the performance of deposit money banks in South East, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to; examine the effect of loans and advances on the income generation and ascertain the effect of investment in securities on cashflows of deposit money banks in South East, Nigeria. A survey design was adopted for the study. The study was based on the five (5) selected banks with international recognitions out of seven (7) of them in Nigeria and within Enugu metropolis with high number of staff and long years of establishment namely: Fidelity bank, Access bank, Guaranty trust Bank, First bank Plc, and Zenith bank. The total population for the study was two hundred and seventy-four (274). The study made use of the whole due to its small number. A survey design was adopted for the study. Instrument used for data collection was the questionnaire. Two hundred and forty-five (256) copies of questionnaire were properly completed and returned. That gave 94 percent response rate of 0.86 which was also good. Data was presented and analyzed by mean score and standard deviation and Z – test was used to test the hypotheses with aid of Special Package for Statistical Software (SPSS). The findings indicated that Loans and advances had statistically significant positive effect on income generation. Z = 10.125, P. = 0.05 and Investments in securities had statistically significant positive effect on the cashflows of deposit money banks in South East, Nigeria. Z = 10.250, P. = 0.05. The study concluded that Loans and advances; and investments in securities had statistically significant positive effect on income generation and cashflows of deposit money banks in South East Nigeria. The study recommended that deposit money banks in the South East should prioritize optimal placement of loans and advances to sectors with high repayment potential to minimize default risks and maximize profitability