CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MECHANISM AND FIRM PERFORMANCE OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA

The research examined the corporate governance mechanism and firm performance of money deposit banks in Nigeria. The primary objective was to examine how specific board characteristics, specifically board size and board composition, impact the financial performance of quoted money deposit banks in Nigeria. The study adopted a correlational research design to examine the relationship between audit committee attributes and financial reporting quality. Secondary data are collected from the annual reports and financial statements of the sampled 14 banks for a period typically spanning 10 years (2014–2023). Pearson Correlation and the regression analyses were adopted based on the OLS technique using E-View 7.0. The Findings revealed that board size has positive and significant relationship with financial performance; Board composition has positive and significant relationship with financial performance; there is a negative and significant relationship between board meeting frequency and financial performance. The study concluded that specific board characteristics, specifically board size and board composition, impact the financial performance of these listed deposit banks in Nigeria. Recommendations made include the need for improvement in the characteristics of boards within listed deposit banks in Nigeria, to limit negative potential threats to the financial performance of these banks. Future research should focus on other corporate governance characteristics that were not included in this study such as: board processes, including the experience of board directors, gender diversity, religious backgrounds, and organizational culture. also, upcoming studies should consider alternative measures of financial performance, such as Tobin's Q, return on investment (ROI), and return on equity (ROE).