An alternative corporate governance framework for the Nigerian banking sector

Abstract: Corporate governance has become a global phenomenon, more so because of reports of major corporate collapses, the positive impact of technology on international trade and foreign direct investment, but also because of the desire to ensure good performance by corporations as well as the need to prevent a re-occurrence of business failure attributed to poor corporate governance practices. Consequently, corporate governance guidelines and codes have been developed by international, regional and national regulatory institutions to ensure efficient running of the corporation, and prevent failure. The study aim was to evaluate the appropriateness of the corporate governance framework in the Nigerian banking sector in view of perennial reports of corporate governance breaches that often led to the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the management of some banks in Nigeria. The study adopted qualitative content analysis to examine the extent of banks’ compliance with the CBN mandatory code of corporate governance and other statutory requirements disclosed in the annual report. Further, a questionnaire survey was conducted among licensed banks in Nigeria to test the practicality and importance of the clauses in the extant CBN code of corporate governance, principles embedded in international acclaimed codes and guiding principles, as well as factors that affect the practice of good corporate governance by banks in Nigeria that formed the basis of the proposed framework. ..Ph.D. (Auditing