Corporate board structure and financial performance of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of corporate board structure (CBS) on the financial performance (FP) of listed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria between 2014 and 2023. The study focused on all 13 listed DMBs, using an ex post facto design and panel data methodology. Data on board size (BSZ), board independence (BID), board meetings (BMT), gender diversity (GDV), return on assets (ROA), and firm size (FSZ) were culled from the annual reports of the banks. Using fixed and random effects models, with diagnostic tests including Hausman, Breusch-Pagan, and Durbin-Watson, the study found that BID has a positive, marginally significant influence on ROA. In contrast, GDV, BSZ, and BMT exhibit negative, statistically insignificant effects. Firm size shows a significant adverse association with ROA. The study concluded that most CBS elements do not significantly influence FP. It recommended increasing the number of independent directors to strengthen governance and maintaining a BSZ that enhances efficiency without introducing managerial complexity.