The Department of Banking and Finance is one of the four departments in the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences. Before the creation of the Department, a professional programme in Banking and Finance was run by the Department of Economics for many years before the programme was terminated to enable the department concentrate only on academic programmes, and to allow for the takeoff of a full-fledged Department of Banking and Finance. As a result of the creation of the Faculty of Economics out of the Faculty of the Social Sciences, the Department of Banking and Finance was one of the flagship departments that make up the then new Faculty of Economics that later became the School of Economics and now the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences. 

The Department of Banking and Finance was created to run programmes in Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Banking and Finance, Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Finance, Master of Science in Banking, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Finance and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Banking to fill the yawning gap in manpower and specialists in the finance industry in particular and the Nigerian economy in general.

The programmes expose students to the latest developments in the financial industry set within a practical business context. The programmes offer specialised practical training in an environment of academic distinction. They are built on the high reputation of both the Department and the University. They are designed to provide and promote advanced research in Finance and Banking. The programmes enable graduates to apply basic theories of Finance to practical questions and problems facing the financial system in the challenging domestic and global economic environment.