The adoption of risk governance best practices and its impact on bank stability and performance : evidence from Uganda’s commercial banking sector

Abstract

Regulatory implementation of risk governance best practices notwithstanding, the stability of banking systems, a critical catalyst for economic growth and transformation, continues to be undermined by bank failures associated with risk governance weaknesses. Does the adoption of risk governance best practices truly enhance bank stability? In the absence of a universal answer to this question within the existing literature, this study (or “the study”) seeks to obtain a context-specific answer for small privately owned banks operating in relatively less sophisticated regulatory environments during a non-crisis period. The study theoretically integrates agency and institutional frameworks and empirically refers to published quantitative secondary data from commercial banks in Uganda for the period 2014 - 2023. Parametric tests and dynamic panel data models are used to test relevant hypotheses. The data reveals significant variation in the adoption of risk governance best practices between listed and non-listed banks. However, contrary to hypothesized expectations, risk governance best practices are found to have no significant impact on bank risk-taking, stability and performance. The main empirical contribution of the study is new evidence on risk-taking, stability and performance outcomes of bank risk governance best practices using non-crisis data from small, mostly privately-owned banks operating in a relatively less sophisticated legal and governance context. The integration of agency and institutional theories also represents an element of methodological advancement, allowing researchers to better reflect the role of external influences on entity level corporate governance structures and outcomes. Implications for practice include highlighting the necessity of taking measures to enhance the effectiveness of risk governance mechanisms as opposed to simply adopting them which may not guarantee their impact. Accordingly, the study presents recommendations for stability focussed bank governance practices, regulation, and supervision.