The effect of board characteristics on the financial performance of listed Banks in Nigeria

The issue revolving around corporate governance and financial performance has always been an essential and critical element for banking sector in Nigeria. This study investigates the effect of board characteristics (board size, board independence, and board financial knowledge) on the financial performance of listed banks in Nigeria. Furthermore, the research used secondary data obtained from the annual report of fourteen (14) banks listed in the Nigerian stock exchange for the year 2014-
2016 with 42 firm-year observations and based on panel data approach. Furthermore, the regression estimates are based on random effect. The result indicates that board size has insignificant relationship with financial performance. This means an increase or decrease in board size has no effect on financial performance. Board independence, and board financial knowledge exhibit a significant negative relationship with ROA. Besides providing suggestion for future research work, this study provides several recommendations for regulators and the Nigerian banking industry.