Sajeeb Kumar Shrestha

This study delves into the substantial impact of corporate governance practices on a company’s financial performance, focusing specifically on Nepalese commercial banks in the Kathmandu Valley. With 419 participants from all 27 «A» grade commercial banks, the study concentrates on employees currently working in these banks, particularly top-level staff such as managers, department heads, and officers. The primary objective is to investigate the role of corporate governance in driving financial performance, using Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) as financial performance indicators of banks. The study explores various factors influencing corporate governance’s impact, including corporate governance policies, disclosure policies, board size, income diversity, and ethnic diversity. Data collection involves primary data from participants associated with the banks, and the analysis is conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses are employed to understand the relationship between corporate governance and financial performance variables. Notably, regular evaluations of the board of directors are found to have a beneficial impact on financial performance. A bank’s transparency in sharing performance information exhibits a stronger positive correlation with ROE (R=0.183) compared to ROA (R=0.060), suggesting that ROE is more sensitive to disparities in information availability. Furthermore, the study identifies a negative impact of board size on financial performance, with low-income diversity positively influencing it and board ethnic diversity exerting a negative and statistically significant influence.

This purpose of the study is to evaluate the influence of corporate governance mechanism factors: board size, board independence, capital adequacy ratio, as well as bank-specific factors: dividend payout ratio and firm size, on the performance of Nepalese commercial banks. The study covered 10 years’ secondary data from 2013/14 to 2022/23, derived from the annual reports and websites of four selected commercial banks that were listed on the Nepal Stock Exchange: Kumari Bank Limited, Himalayan Bank Limited, Prabhu Bank Limited, and Prime Commercial Bank. A non-probability sample method, especially the purposive sampling approach, was used in this study. Earnings per share (EPS) is regarded to be the dependent variable, whereas two elements, namely, corporate governance mechanisms and bank-specific factors, are considered to be independent variables. Data analysis was carried out using the SPSS 25 software, which includes descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. The empirical results indicate that board size has a favorable influence on EPS, but this association does not reach statistical significance. In contrast, board independency has a notable and statistically significant negative impact on EPS. The capital adequacy ratio is positively correlated with EPS. However, the impact of firm size on EPS is not statistically significant. On the other hand, the dividend payout ratio has a significant positive effect on EPS.