An Empirical Study On The Relationship Between The Heterogeneity Of Independent Directors And The Performance Of Commercial Banks In China

The independent director system is an important measure to improve the governance mechanism of China’s commercial banks,which can effectively curb the damage to the interests of small and medium-sized shareholders caused by the lack of insider control,supervision mechanism and related transactions.From the perspective of studying the relationship between the heterogeneity of independent directors and the performance of commercial banks,taking 16 listed commercial banks in China’s A-share market as the research object,this paper selects 618 independent directors who served during 2009-2020 as the research sample,and makes a regression analysis of their selection pericd,age,number of part-time jobs in society,professional background,education level,gender and other factors with related bank performance indicators,The conclusions are as follows:First,there is a positive correlation between the tenure of independent directors and the performance of commercial banks.The longer the term of office of an independent director,the more opportunities for communication within the bank,the more familiar he is with the members of the board of directors,and the more conducive to the formation of a sense of teamwork.The more fully he discusses the problems in the bank’s operation and management,the easier it is to reach consensus,the higher the efficiency of decision-making,and the more conducive to the improvement of the bank’s performance.Second,within a certain age range,the older the independent directors are,the better the bank performance will be.Generally speaking,the older the independent directors are,the longer their working time is,the richer their accumulated working experience is,and the more rational they are in dealing with problems;At the same time.the older the independent directors are,the higher the degree of risk aversion is,which can avoid the risky decision-making of commercial banks,and is more conducive to the bank’s stable operation,thus ensuring the bank’s performance growth.Third,the more the number of part-time independent directors,the better the performance of commercial banks.Independent directors can have more part-time jobs,which means that independent directors have a higher professional level and are recognized by the wider society,thus providing a wider range of social relations for the development of commercial banks,and can combine the experience and lessons learred from other part-time jobs to provide a richer reference sample for scientific decision-making of commercial banks.Fourth,the richer the professional background of independent directors,the better the performance of commercial banks.The professional background of independent directors determines their social resources and technical capabilities.On the one hand,independent directors with rich professional backgrounds can provide professional technical advice for the decision-making of the board of directors;On the other hand,it can also become a bridge between commercial banks and all sectors of society,which is conducive to the diversified development of commercial banks.Fifth,the better the educational background of independent directors,the better the performance of commercial banks.Independent directors with deeper education background are more professional,richer in knowledge,broader in vision,and more likely to accept new things.In the process of participating in the decision-making process of the board of directors,the suggestions put forward to improve the operation and management of commercial banks are often more valuable,and more conducive to the improvement of the operation efficiency of commercial banks.Sixthly,the proportion of women among independent directors is positively related to the performance of commercial banks.This is because most women are better at communication and interpersonal communication than men,and can effectively facilitate discussion and reach consensus in general.Female independent directors are more thoughtful,more considerate,and more adept at expressing their true ideas,which can inhibit the "one word phenomenon" of the board of directors,so as to maintain the effective supervision of independent directors over the board of directors.On the basis of the above research conclusions,this paper puts forward corresponding policy recommendations.First,we should maintain the relative stability of independent directors;Second,the age of independent directors should be appropriately increased within a reasonable range;Third,to allow and encourage independent directors to take part-time jobs in other enterprises or units within an appropriate scope;Fourth,the proportion of independent directors with professional background should be properly maintained;Fifth,carry out continuing education for independent directors during their tenure;Sixth,increase the proportion of women among independent directors.