Corporate Governance Practice, Net Income Growth and Net Profit Margin: Evidence from Selected Commercial Banks in an Emerging Economy in Sub Saharan Africa – Nigeria

This study presents a re-examination of how net income growth and net profit margin of selected commercial banks quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are affected by corporate governance practice for the period 2005 to 2017. The Panel Ordinary Least Square (POLS) was employed to determine the relationship between corporate governance practice, net income growth and net profit margin of commercial banks, while the granger causality technique was followed in evaluating the effect of corporate governance variables on net income growth and net profit margin. After performing the analysis, we found that it is only age of the board as a corporate governance variable that significantly affect net profit margin of selected commercial banks. With respect to the banks’ specific fundamentals, it was the debt structure that significantly influenced net profit margin. We concluded hereby that corporate governance practice has little effect in predicting net income growth and net profit margin of commercial banks quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on the argument that it is only the board age that influenced net profit margin significantly. We are of the opinion and still maintain that appointment into the board should be on the bases of age and experience not on friendship or relation. A young vibrant mind with skills and required experience can bring a lot of innovative ideas that is capable of even skyrocketing profitability to the amazement of shareholders. This is not to say that elderliness is an incapacitating factor in that regard.