Abstract

This paper examines the impact of board of directors on the variability of bank performance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Based on a sample of 38 banks during 2004-2011, we examine the impact of board characteristics on performance. Our results show that as the size of a bank’s board of directors decreases its performance increases. However, the presence of CEO duality, independent and institutional directors in the board of directors is not significant in explaining performance differences between MENA banks. In addition, the results highlight the fact that state directors undermine the performance while foreign directors are relevant to strengthen the performance in MENA banks. Indeed, our findings highlight the importance of foreign members in enhancing banks performance.

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