Board Characteristics and Capital Structure of the Nigerian Deposit Money
This study examined the relationship between board characteristics and capital structure of the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria. This study employed secondary data. Data were sourced from the annual reports of 12listed DMBs in the Nigeria, from 2006 to 2020. In analysing the data, the study explored multiple regression analysis by using independent variables, including board size, board independence and frequency of board meetings in measuring board characteristics while capital structure is proxied using leverage. The report found that board characteristics have a significant effect on capital structure decisions. Specifically, board independence and board size were negatively and significantly related to leverage. Further investigation found that while liquidity risk had a negative effect on capital structure, firm size and return on asset had positive and significant effect. The results of the study indicated that having sound corporate governance processes makes funding mechanisms better since they put DMBs in a stronger position to get external funding. It is clear, from this study, that corporate governance mechanisms influence the financing decisions of Nigerian Deposit Money Banks. Keywords: Board Characteristics, Capital structure, board size, board independence, board meetings, Deposit Money Banks JEL Classification code: G32