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This study takes advantage of the lack of empirical studies on the effect of credit information sharing and funding cost of banks and investigates credit information sharing and bank funding cost in Africa between 2006 and 2012. Employing a two-step generalized method of moments regression of 233 banks in 17 African countries, the study provides new revelations. The study shows that the quality of credit information shared is key and persistent in reducing funding cost of banks.Again, the study confirms that the coverage of private credit bureaus significantly reduced bank funding cost whereas no such evidence was found for coverage of public credit registries. Further, although the study found evidence to support that the presence of credit information reduces bank funding cost, no evidence was found to support that countries that use both private credit bureaus and public credit registries are able to reduce funding cost of banks in Africa. From these results, it is evident that credit information sharing presence, coverage, and quality reduces funding cost in Africa. For policy recommendations, policymakers and bank boards must team up and set up credit information sharing institutions to help reduce information asymmetry and funding cost in countries that do not share credit information. Also, the introduction and establishment of credit information sharing must be geared towards private bureaus as they are more effective in reducing funding cost of banks. Again, policymakers must enact laws and policies that deepen the coverage, depth, and quality of credit information shared so that the financial sector of Africa countries can realize the full potential of credit information sharing.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between corporate governance structures and stakeholder and shareholder value maximization perspectives in 267 African banks from 2006 to 2011. Design/methodology/approach The authors used the Prais–Winsten ordinary least squares and random effect regression models to explore this relationship to ensure consistency and efficiency in results. The data for this study were collected from Bankscope. Findings The results of this study show that corporate governance structures such as CEO duality, nonexecutive members and extreme large board size lead to a reduction in both shareholder and stakeholder value maximization. However, audit independence and board size also promote both shareholder and stakeholder value maximization. Although gender diversity promotes profit maximization, it was not significant in any of the models estimated. The results further suggest that the same corporate governance structures promote and detract shareholder and stakeholder value maximization in Africa although the effect of corporate governance structures was weightier on shareholder value maximization confirming the agency theory. Practical implications From these findings, bank management must pursue the institution of good corporate governance structures and avoid weak corporate governance structures to promote shareholder and stakeholder value maximization. Also equity holders may have to pay particular attention to corporate governance structures because they benefit the most from the institution of good corporate governance structures. Originality/value This study explores and compares how corporate governance structures promote shareholder and stakeholder value maximization separately in African banks. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first of such studies.

This study examines the effect of private and public sector led financial sector transparency on bank interest margins across eighty-six economies. Using a two-step dynamic system generalized method of moments, least square dummy variables, fixed effects and bootstrap quantile panel models between 2005 and 2016, the findings of the two-step GMM are reported as follows. First, results reveal that financial sector transparency whether led by private or public sector reduces interest margins. Second, while no statistical evidence was found on which of the two (private or public sector led transparency) is more effective in dealing with bank interest margins, public sector-led financial transparency is found to be more consistent in reducing bank interest margins across many more economies. Third, the study shows that the effect of financial sector transparency is visible at lower and middle levels of bank interest margins implying that economies with lower and moderately high bank interest margin level can benefit more from policies targeted at improving transparency in the financial sector. These findings imply that the sampled countries must enact policies and laws that deepen and expand financial sector transparency in order to potentially reduce bank interest margins for the good of banking market participants and society at large.