| Corporate governance issues resulting from bad governance, fraudulent activities, insider abuse, and corruption have attracted the attention of shareholders and regulators in the banking industry. The financial crisis that erupted from the United States affected the financial institutions of both developed and developing countries, among which Nigerian banks belong. The Central Bank of Nigeria removed 8 managing directors and executive directors due to bad governance, nonperforming loans of 61%, and toxic assets of $13.3 billion; the Central Bank injected 620 billion naira into the banks. The purpose of this multiple case study was to develop an understanding of corporate governance strategies needed to ensure regulatory compliance and enhance financial performance from the perspective of senior management of the regulatory authority and corporate financial leaders. Agency theory served as the conceptual framework for the study. The population for this study was10 senior regulatory leaders and corporate financial leaders in Nigeria. The data sources were semistructured interviews, research notes, codes of corporate governance, and financial reports of banks. Member checking was used to improve the credibility and trustworthiness of the data. After compiling, disassembling, reassembling, and coding the data, 5 themes including the need for: improvement on compliance to corporate governance regulations; effective board governance; training education and awareness on best practices, strategic risk management and internal control; and strategic and effective leadership. Potential implications for social change may include knowledge for investors and the public, who have increasingly relied on financial services in Nigeria to support personal and business goals to identify banks with best practices. |
