Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to identify the key determinants of stock market performance in Nigeria. More specifically, it is an attempt to determine the effect of gender diversity in leadership roles on the performance of the stock market in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses annual data from 1980 through 2011 to model the development and performance of the Nigerian stock market through a modified Calderon-Rossell approach. Specifically, the leadership role of women in the governance of the stock market is investigated. Robust regression approach is used to avoid complications associated with the violations of the assumptions underlying the application of ordinary least squares regression. Findings – The empirical analysis shows that level of income, real exchange rate, liquidity, banking sector development, institutional quality, macroeconomic stability and gender are important determinants of stock market performance in the Nigerian stock market. Further, the results indicate that at worst, gender diversity does not play into stock market performance in Nigeria, and at its best, the appointment of women in the management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange is associated with better performance. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the empirical literature on the role of gender diversity and financial performance. The contribution of this paper is the inclusion of gender as an institutional factor among the determinants of stock market performance in Nigeria.

This paper aims to examine the influence foreign and indigenous directors have on determining firms’ dividend payout structure. The population for this study is the fifteen deposit money banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Using a random sampling technique, a sample of 14 deposit money banks for the 2010 to 2017 period was taken. The total observations used for the work was 112. The study adopted a panel data methodology, which was estimated with a random-effect model. It was observed that a significant relationship exists between foreign directors and the dependent variable (dividend payout structure). The dividend payout structure by dividend per share of sampled firms was measured. This study will improve analysts and investors’ understanding of dividend policy by giving them insights in identifying the main determinants of dividend policy. For policy makers, this study reinforces the fact that good corporate governance is important to develop financial markets and improve the firm value.

Cash holding decision is a very crucial decision that strongly affects the performance of an organization. Corporate dynamism as a corporate governance tool was explored in this study in order to establish its relationship with cash holding decision in listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Board skill, female leadership, foreign directors, board ownership and directors’ compensation were used as proxies for corporate dynamism. A panel regression model was adopted in this study to examine the implication of corporate dynamism on cash holding decisions spanning six years from 2012 to 2017. Random sampling technique was employed in order to arrive at thirty firms out of thirty-seven listed manufacturing firms, which comprised industrial and consumer goods sector. Board ownership and the existence of foreign expatriates were found to have a significant effect on cash holding decisions. It is concluded that directors with significant holdings tend to be more aggressive towards activities that enhance the performance of a firm, one of which is ensuring that optimal level of cash is held at a particular point in time in order to guide against liquidity problems, which may be caused by overtrading or even keeping excess idle cash, which is supposed to be invested in profitable ventures. Also, the fact that the existence of foreign expatriates will affect cash holding decisions, which may be justified by the fact foreign expatriates are displaying expertise because of diverse experience that they have been able to gain from different parts of the world.

The study investigates the influence of International Financial Reporting Standards adoption, using accounting performance measure, to determine the CEO pay in listed banks in Nigeria. The audited annual financial statements of listed banks in Nigeria covering the period of 2009–2015 are analyzed. Fixed effect model, viz panel data analysis is adopted to establish the findings. The findings indicate that adoption of IFRS in Nigeria results in an inverse relationship with accounting performance in determining the CEO compensation after controlling for firm and corporate governance mechanism. However, the adoption of IFRS shows significant positive influence on the CEO pay. This result has policy implication, which encourages the regulatory agencies like Central Bank of Nigeria to monitor the compliance of all banks in Nigeria to the IFRS adoption.

This study evaluates the stock market reaction to monetary policy modifications in an emerging market using Nigeria as a case study.  Due to the crucial role the stock market plays in the global economy and finance, it becomes an attraction for most researchers and policymakers who try to find a basis for its smooth operation.  This study uses data that cover a period from 1998 to 2018 to establish what the position is in recent times empirically. The data are collected on all share index, money supply, interest rate and exchange rate. The multiple regression results provide evidence that the money supply has a significant favourable influence on the all-share index. In contrast, the interest rate has an immaterial harmful effect on the stock market output.  However, the result indicates that the exchange rate affects the stock market performance negatively, but the effect is insignificant. Based on these findings, the study suggests pilot test running of all monetary policy amendments by the monetary authority in the country before full implementation.  The government should encourage the CBN to cut down on interest rate and avoid all policies that will lead to a crash in the Nigerian stock market.   Received: 16 October 2020 / Accepted: 12 February 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021