Board characteristics, corporate social responsibility and bank performance in an emerging economy: the moderating effect of foreign ownership

This study investigates the impact of board characteristics and corporate social responsibility disclosure on bank performance, examining the moderating effect of foreign ownership. The study employed longitudinal panel and correlational research designs and analysed data from annual reports of 17 banks, comprising 119 firm-year observations, using panel ordinary least square regression, fixed and random effects regression methods. The study findings suggest that board size significantly impacts bank performance measured by return on equity (ROE), while board composition exhibits a significant negative association with performance. Foreign ownership demonstrated a significant negative effect on ROE but not on return on assets (ROA). Additionally, bank size had a significant negative impact on ROA but not on ROE. Thus, board characteristics and foreign ownership significantly influence bank performance. Banks should carefully evaluate the impact of board composition, foreign ownership and bank size on performance metrics to inform strategic decision-making and governance practices.