Risk Management Strategies and Financial Performance of Quoted Deposit Money Banks In Nigeria
Samson Adewale ADEDIRAN, Sani Rufai ABDULLAHI, Blessing Ugochi OLADIPO & Sarah Ovayioza PUKE
Despite regulatory efforts and reforms aimed at strengthening the Nigerian banking sector, the performance of many deposit money banks remains volatile, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current risk management practices. This study examined the risk management strategies and financial performance of quoted deposit money banks in Nigeria, from 2012 to 2023. The population consists of all the ten (10) quoted deposit money banks in Nigeria while filtering criteria was used to arrive at a sample size of nine (9) quoted deposit money banks. The hypotheses were tested using fixed effect regression model. The results showed that earnings volatility (EVT) has a significant positive effect on financial performance of quoted deposit money banks in Nigeria, while debt-to-equity ratio (DER) has a significant negative effect on financial performance of quoted deposits money banks in Nigeria. However, interest coverage ratio (ICR) has an insignificant positive effect on financial performance of quoted deposits money banks in Nigeria for the period under review. The study recommended that the deposit money bank in Nigeria should focus on strategies that enhance their earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to further improve their ICR. This can be achieved through efficient operations, cost management, and revenue growth. Also, the deposit money bank in Nigeria with high debt-to-equity ratio should develop a debt reduction strategy. This could involve paying down existing debt, refinancing at lower interest rates, or limiting new debt issuance to maintain a manageable debt level.
Keywords: Debt-to-equity ratio, earnings volatility, financial performance, interest coverage ratio, risk management strategies