How corporate governance and ownership affect banks’ risk-taking in the MENA countries?

摘要

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between corporate governance andrisk-taking behaviour of banks operating in the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries.Design/methodology/approach – In doing so, the authors use a data set covering 165 banks located in 13MENA countries over the period 2005–2012 and apply dynamic panel data methodology.Findings – The results showthat goodgovernance actingintheinterestsof shareholderscouldleadto excessiverisk taking; in this sense, a conflict of interest between the stakeholders, interested in the solvency of the financialsystem, and shareholders, trying to maximise their benefit, may occur. The greater risk can be reinforced by thegovernance of the country and a strong macro governance framework can incentivise a higher risk exposure inbanks, showing the influence of bank regulation and law enforcement on the risks taken by banks.Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper showing that corporategovernance is relevant for explaining risk taking at the country and bank levels in MENA countries.