Audit Committee Attributes on Credit Risk Management of Listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the effect of audit committee attributes on credit risk management of deposit money banks in Nigeria over the period 2009–2024. Credit risk was proxied by non performing loan ratio, while audit committee attributes were measured using financial expertise, chairperson tenure, gender diversity, and overlapping membership. Panel data techniques were employed, with preliminary analyses including descriptive statistics, normality tests, and correlation analysis. Given the presence of heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation, and cross-sectional dependence, the Driscoll–Kraay standard error estimator was adopted to ensure robust inference. The findings revealed that in contrast, audit committee independence and financial expertise showed significant positive effects on non-performing loans, suggesting potential governance inefficiencies or contextual limitations in their effectiveness. The study concluded that the relationship between audit committee attributes and credit risk in Nigerian deposit money banks is complex and context dependent, rather than uniformly aligned with theoretical expectations. It recommended strengthening the qualitative effectiveness of audit committees, particularly in member competence, independence quality, and leadership stability, rather than focusing solely on structural compliance. The study contributed to corporate governance literature by providing empirical evidence from an emerging economy and introducing nuanced insights into underexplored audit committee characteristics.