The major objective of this study is to examine the impact of commercial banks operations on the economic growth and development of Nigeria for the period (1980-2014). The study specifically examined the impact of private sector credit, deposit mobilization, interest rate spread and commercial bank holding of treasury bills on the growth of the Nigerian economy. The ex-post facto and exploratory designs were adopted and secondary data were sourced from the CBN statistical bulletin and collected using desk survey. Error correction mechanism was employed to assess the impact of private sector credit, deposit mobilization, interest rate spread and commercial bank holding of treasury bills on the growth of the Nigerian economy. Our result revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between private sector credit, commercial bank deposit mobilization, interest rate spread and the development of the Nigerian economy; while there is no significant relationship between deposit money bank holding of treasury bills and the development of the Nigerian economy. Based on these findings, it is recommended that government and other monetary authorities should use selective credit control measures in order to persuade banks to grant more loan and advances to the private sectors which are the engine of economic growth in Nigeria. Efforts should be made by government to regulate the interest rate charged by banks on lending to businesses in Nigeria and finally, the holding of treasury bills by commercial banks should be reduced to enhance the ability to lend to the public for productive purposes
Keywords: Deposit, Money, Nigerian Economy, banks business
