Public Relations Review 37 (2011) 71–73 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Public Relations Review Research in brief Managing a crisis of confidence in Nigeria’s banking and financial industry  Cornelius B. Pratt a,* , Eddy A. Ademosu b,c , Wole Adamolekun b,d , Lanre Alabi b,e , Ronald L. Carr f a Department of Strategic Communication, 216 Weiss Hall, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6021, United States b Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks, Nigeria c Union Bank of Nigeria PLC, Corporate Affairs Department, Head Office, Stallion Plaza, 22nd Floor, 36 Marina, P.M.B 2027, Lagos, Nigeria d The African Public Relations Association, Plot 1012, Cadastral Zone, Central Business District, A00, P.M.B. 609, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria e Prospers Strategy & Marketing Communications Ltd., P.O. Box 3311, Marina, Lagos, Nigeria f Communications Program, 6F Azabu Hall, Temple University Japan, 2-8-12 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0047, Japan article info Article history: Received 16 September 2010 Received in revised form 19 October 2010 Accepted 22 October 2010 Keywords: Banks Crisis of confidence Ethics Nigeria Relationship commitment Trust abstract An ongoing crisis of confidence in the banking and financial industry in Nigeria’s emerg- ing economy calls for using integrated marketing communications (IMC) in optimizing five potentially normative actions as a beachhead in procuring corporate benefits from three variables that predict significantly customers’ favorable impressions of business: satisfaction, trust, relationship commitment. The actions: (a) personalize the stakeholder experience, (b) integrate ethics into the workplace and into corporate communications, (c) participate in training sessions in applied ethics, (d) use brandstanding expansively and integratively, and (e) conduct rigorous outcomes assessment and disseminate its results promptly to stakeholders. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. The recent global macroeconomic crisis has generated national and regional fiscal recommendations for immediate and short-term actions toward reforming financial systems in Western and African economies (e.g., Arieff, Sharland, & Okpara, 2009; Onadele, 2009; Sanda, 2009). In Nigeria, the global threat to the financial industry’s reputation (and well-being) has been exacerbated by a crisis of confidence, necessitating governments’ responses that emphasize more transparency and accountability and raising the stakes for the country’s corporate affairs managers of banks who must now plan even more strategically to earn the understanding and trust of their key stakeholders – both commercial enterprises and individual investors – as a condition for managing, sustaining and expanding their market share. Therefore, this article outlines several activities that can be undertaken by communication practitioners in Nigeria’s banking and financial industry to enhance its key constituents’ perceptions of four organizational factors vis-à-vis that industry: reliability, responsibility, credibility, and trustworthiness. Fombrun (1996) notes that those four factors are critical to building strong, favorable corporate reputation; to maintaining and gaining customer support; and to boosting profits in the long run.  The full text of this article is available by request from Cornelius B. Pratt at cbpratt@temple.edu. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 215 204 5790; fax: +1 215 204 8543. E-mail addresses: cbpratt@temple.edu (C.B. Pratt), eaademosu@unionbankng.com (E.A. Ademosu), lolese123@yahoo.com (W. Adamolekun), lanrealabi@prospersstrategy.com (L. Alabi), carr@tuj.ac.jp (R.L. Carr). 0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.10.004