Exploring the Relationship Between Board Composition and Non-Performing Loans: A Comparative Analysis Across GCC and Non-GCC Countries

In this paper, we study the relationship between board characteristics and non-performing loans in the MENA region. To this end, we used a sample of 70 banks operating in 12 countries in the MENA region from 2010 to 2022. The System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) was employed as an empirical technique. To benefit from a comparative analysis, we divided the whole sample into two sub-samples. The first one covers six Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) with 42 banks. The second one is also relative to six non-Gulf Cooperation Council countries (NGCC) with 28 banks. The empirical findings indicate that board independence, gender diversity, board compensation, and the board index decrease NPLs across all regions, including MENA, GCC, and NGCC, while board size and tenure increase NPLs. However, duality increases NPLs only in the MENA and GCC regions.