Corporate Governance and Financial Performance of Some Selected Commercial Banks in Nigeria (Published)
This paper investigates the effects of corporate governance mechanisms on selected Nigerian banks’ financial performance from 2018 to 2024, focusing on the impact of board structure, audit committee effectiveness, risk management practices, and governance disclosure on profitability, asset quality, and credit risk management. A mixed-methods research design is adopted for this study, complementing quantitative analysis of financial statements and governance reports with insights from regulatory filings and corporate disclosures. Results show that all governance mechanisms are significant, yet distinct, drivers of financial performance, with risk management practices emerging as the most crucial determinant. Boards with diverse expertise, combined with active audit committees, robust risk frameworks, and transparent reporting by firms, go hand in hand with profitability and reduction of non-performing loans. Based on these findings, this study supports theoretical hypotheses within Agency, Stakeholder, Resource-Dependence Theories while extending the previous literature on the role of board diversity, qualitative audit committee engagement, and disclosure as a source of strategic value. This suggests an integrated approach to governance as an important lesson in teasing out how to prosper in Nigeria’s sometimes hostile banking environment, providing lessons that will be useful in practice for bank management seeking to build stronger institutional performance and resilience, regulators, and other policy actors.
Keywords: Bank Profitability, Board Structure, Corporate Governance, Financial Performance, Nigerian Banks, Risk Management, audit committee effectiveness, governance disclosure