Graduate Dedicates Doctoral Degree to her Late Father

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Dr Damilola Oyetade dedicated her PhD in Finance to her late father, saying that while the journey had been difficult she persevered to fulfil his wish.

‘I wanted to quit twice but the thought of letting him down - and also disappointing my mother - who both sacrificed so much for me, urged me on. And here I am today, the first PhD graduate in the family,’ said Oyetade.

Her thesis, titled: The Potential Impact of Basel IV Requirements on Performance and Resilience of Commercial Banks in Africa, aimed to establish policy direction for African monetary authorities on the proposed Basel IV regulation.

‘It took me over six months to dissect and understand the Basel regulations and identify my research issue. The availability of data for African banks was also a challenge,’ said Oyetade.

‘It is noteworthy that the African banking system remains under-developed and not fully integrated into the global financial system,’ said Oyetade. ‘They have not fully embraced the changes in Basel regulatory requirements thought to be beneficial in increasing bank resilience, lending and capital adequacy. At the same time, compliance with Basel requirements tends to be expensive for banks and can impact on their performance and ability to lend. My PhD thesis investigated these issues.’

Her findings indicate that compliance with Basel IV capital requirements will have short and long-term implications for bank performance and lending in Africa as it will improve capital adequacy and the resilience of banks in Africa.

In addition, the outcome of this study could be used to correct misconceptions about the relevance of the Basel regulation in the African setting, given that many African banks are constrained by capital inadequacy and weak regulatory requirements, which make them inefficient even in the presence of revenue growth opportunities from a growing market, unbanked population and high-interest rates.

Oyetade thanked her supervisors, Professor Paul-Francois Muzindutsi and Dr Adefemi Obalade, and also her mother and brother for their financial support throughout the programme.

Words: Lungile Ngubelanga

Photograph: Supplied