Corporate Governance and Banks’ Profitability: Evidence from Selected Indian Listed Commercial Banks

Purpose- The goal of this study is to investigate how corporate governance practices affect the financial performance of selected commercial banks that are listed in India. Design/Methodology/Approach- A balanced panel of 330 observations from 30 listed commercial banks in India (12 public and 18 private) between 2015 and 2025 is used in this analysis. Pooled OLS and Fixed Effects panel regression models are utilized, along with autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity diagnostic tests. To guarantee reliable inference, HAC-consistent standard errors are used. Findings- All profitability metrics (ROE, ROA, EPS, and NPM) are strongly and consistently correlated with the frequency of board meetings, suggesting inefficiencies brought on by too many meetings. Director salary is generally negligible, with the exception of a slight positive influence on ROA, but board size has a moderately beneficial effect on EPS and NPM. In certain models, firm size appears as a marginally significant positive control variable. Practical implications/Limitations- The results imply that reducing the frequency of board meetings may improve the financial performance of Indian banks, providing insights for bank boards, regulators, and policymakers in emerging economies. Originality/Value- By evaluating governance-performance correlations using contemporary longitudinal data and reliable econometric approaches, such as HAC standard errors, this work adds to the scant literature on corporate governance in Indian banking.