International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development

The importance of banks and the banking activity have over the years been acknowledged by all actors in various sectors of human and national life as capital for the wellbeing of all. The duty placed on the banks is an enormous one that of a real locator of the scarce resource -money to seek a vital balance between those who have the resource and those who need the resource to invest for economic growth. Money happens to be the center of attraction for almost every activity as it serves as a medium of exchange of value. This leads to specifically high demand for it and access to it therefore becomes very problematic. Who should keep the money and on what conditions is it given out to those who need it What should be done with surpluses and what if there is deficit or shortage in supply These complex issues to be resolved have led to regulation on the banking activity at different levels. The banks will only efficiently perform their functions if these regulations are adhered to. Regulations though good, have demonstrated that not everyone is unanimous on how they should be employed and time has lent credence to the arguments that legislation alone cannot suffice to guarantee efficient bank performance. Reason why rules of ethics in banking and moral values have come not to compliment legislation but reinforce it such that an efficient bank performance would only be guaranteed by this trinity. Where the three do not coexist, or exist at variance, problems are bound to arise as is the case in Cameroon.