BOARD DIVERSITY AND ETHICAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIAN FINANCIAL SECTOR: A STUDY OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANK
Keywords:
board diversity, ethical corporate governance, age diversity, ethnicity diversity, Nigerian DMBs, compliance to regulatory bodiesAbstract
This study examines the relationship between board diversity and ethics in corporate governance in Nigeria's financial sector. Focusing on Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), the study investigated three important dimensions of board diversity, which are gender, age, and ethnicity, and their effect on transparency, accountability, and compliance with regulatory requirements which are indicators of ethical corporate governance. The study employed survey research design to gather data from 230 boards of directors and executives of the 7 Nigerian DMBs with international presence, based on census sampling technique the entire population was used as sample. 215 questionnaires were retrieved and used for analysis. The hypotheses were tested with Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) analysis. Results showed a strong relationship between board diversity and ethical corporate governance in Nigerian DMBs. Specifically, our findings show that age diversity has positive effect on boards’ transparency, gender diversity positively correlates with accountability, and ethnicity diversity positively affects compliance with regulatory requirements. The study hence conclude that board diversity is essential in promoting ethical corporate governance in Nigerian DMBs. Based on the findings, we recommend that The regulators, CBN and the SEC should implement rules that will promote board diversity to help reduce the risk of corporate failures. Policymakers in the Nigerian government should introduce policies that will encourage board diversity. Nigerian DMBs should prioritize board diversity as a means of improving their organisation's governance and reputation.References
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