The System of Corporate Governance in Kyrgyzstan

The paper is devoted to formation of the modern corporate governance system in Kyrgyz Republic. The main factors that influence this process have been studied, e.g., legal background and practice of privatization; corporate and antimonopoly law; financial markets; stakeholders activities, etc. The authors conclude that there were significant positive changes in the sphere of corporate governance in Kyrgyzstan. First of all it should be marked that in the country that had no previous experience of private property and market, institutions of corporate governance were formed, there was a process of learning of both owners and managers how to govern the company using the available set of laws and regulations. But this process is far from being complete, since the real corporate relations are still very dysfunctional. In the authors’ opinion, improvement of corporate governance in the country requires a complex approach: upgrading of legislation must be accompanied by active measures aimed at improving the situation in all spheres that influence the quality of corporate governance. The main task in this sphere is creation of favorable legal and institutional climate which would lead to improvement of common norms of corporate governance and to attraction of external investments.corporate governance, privatization, ownership structure, transition economy, Kyrgyzstan

Corporate governance – Performance relationship in microfinance institutions (MFIs)

The relationship between governance and the performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) is discussed in this paper. MFI performance encompasses both financial performance and outreach. Good governance in terms of strengthening stewardship, achievement of MFIs’ primary objectives and promoting further development of the industry have been asserted as key elements in the literature pertaining to MFI performance. Similarly, several cases concerning poor governance have been analysed. Good corporate governance has become more important due to the demand for transparency and accountability of funds utilised in microfinance activities. Further, MFIs need to have a solid governance framework to minimise the possibilities of management failures which may jeopardise the efficacious application of received funds from governments and donors. In prior studies, the nature of corporate governance practised by MFIs is less understood and no substantive work using multiple MFI outcomes over a number of years has been undertaken. The concerns raised in reviews of individual MFIs and normative discussions of what should constitute best practice do point to the need for better understanding of the nature of corporate governance practised by the MFIs and also, to understand the nature of the relationship that exists between institutional success and corporate governance especially for developing countries. This study therefore identifies and provides a framework for undertaking corporate governance research relating to MFIs

Governance and Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States

This paper presents the first evidence on the impact of board diversity and independence, and management compensation on outreach and sustainability of microfinance institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States. Results indicate that board diversity improves both outreach and sustainability while larger and less independent boards lower sustainability. Performance-based compensation is not effective in aligning the interest of managers and stakeholders, and underpaying managers reduces outreach.governance, microfinance, board of directors, managerial compensation, Financial Economics,

Corporate Governance in the Emerging Economics of the Caribbean: Peculiarities, Challenges, and a Future Pathway

Building on corporate governance research and responsible leadership theory this paper examines, through a multiple case approach, three major cases of corporate failures in the emerging economies of Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, member states of the Caribbean Community trade bloc. The paper accordingly provides valuable insights into the dynamics of corporate governance in the Caribbean and proposes a responsible leadership approach as a framework to mitigating agency-problems and addressing the changing business contexts of the region. The paper suggests that researchers and practitioners need to develop a more holistic approach towards understanding corporate governance by going beyond traditional governance mechanisms and controls, and incorporating responsible leadership levels of analysis into the equation. It also establishes that regulators, boards, management, and auditors are critical to avoiding corporate failures and that good corporate governance is fundamental to the performance and sustainability of firms and economies as a whole

Evaluating the board of directors of financial intermediaries: competencies, effectiveness and performance

This paper proposes a model for analysing the effectiveness of boards of directors of financial intermediaries. The European Union recommends that companies in the Member States annually evaluate the performance of their boards. The degree of effectiveness of a board should be appreciated taking into account the business structure, ownership and institutional model of the firm, on the one hand, and the characteristics of its board, in terms of its composition, structure and skills, on the other hand. This paper also outlines the specificity of the role played by boards of directors in financial intermediaries, also in the light of the industry standards and regulations, and provides an overview of the board assessment methodologies proposed in literature, or developed by listed companies on the Anglo-saxon markets, with a view to considering their applicability to the financial sector. Lastly, and based on the foregoing, the paper proposes a model for diagnosing the conditions that need to be put into place to ensure the suitability of boards of directors and to evaluate the performance of both the board as a whole and the individual directors.Corporate Governance; Board of Directors; Performance

Social stigma and executive compensation

We document that executives working at firms perceived negatively in light of social norms, such as tobacco, gambling and alcohol, earn a significant compensation premium. The premium compensates for personal costs executives bear due to their employer’s negative public perception and include: (i) a reduced likelihood these CEOs will serve as directors on other firms’ boards, which associates with lower executives’ social status, and (ii) impaired job mobility as employers shun stigmatized executives. The compensation premium is not explained by higher managerial skill required in firms we investigate, higher employment contract risk, political capital, litigation risk, or differences in corporate governance quality, and robust to endogeneity concerns. Our results highlight the significant impact job-related social stigma has on executive compensation

Corporate governance in developing and emerging countries. The case of Romania

The experiences of the developed countries reveals that a good corporate governance could reduces risk, stimulates performance, improves access to capital markets, enhances the marketability of goods and services, improves leadership, increases the value of the corporations, enables the corporation to acquire external finances more easily and at a lower cost. In the case of developing and emerging economies the need for corporate governance extends beyond resolving problems resulting from the separation of ownership and control. Developing and emerging economies are constantly confronted with issues such as the lack of property rights, the abuse of minority shareholders or contract violations. But in order that corporate governance measures have a strong impact in the economy, a set of democratic, market institutions and legal system should be settled up. The Romanian governance system follows the patterns of the Continental European model based on the internal control of the employees and the management but with some particularities in function of the specific economic, political, cultural conditions.corporate governance, developing countries, principles, models, firm, performance

Corporate Governance as a Tool for Curbing Bank Distress in Nigeria Deposit Money Bank: Empirical Evidence

The study objective is aimed at finding the relationship between corporate governance bank distress in deposit money banks. The research design adopted in this paper is the case study method, in other to have an intensive insight of the subject matter. Primary data was used specifically the survey technique.The method that was used in the presentation of data in this study is the Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS) which contains all the necessary and important statistical technique for data analysis. For testing the hypothesis, correlation analysis which measures the degree of relationship between variables was used to analyze the result generated from the questionnaire. The evidence shows that corporate governance has no significant improvement on the prevention of bank distress but has significantly improved the performance of the Nigerian banking sector. We therefore recommend that banks should demonstrate strong internal policies to identify and manage conflict of interest and zero tolerance posture against cases of unsound corporate governance practices

Corporate governance in developing and emerging countries. The case of Romania

The experiences of the developed countries reveals that a good corporate governance could reduces risk, stimulates performance, improves access to capital markets, enhances the marketability of goods and services, improves leadership, increases the value of the corporations, enables the corporation to acquire external finances more easily and at a lower cost. In the case of developing and emerging economies the need for corporate governance extends beyond resolving problems resulting from the separation of ownership and control. Developing and emerging economies are constantly confronted with issues such as the lack of property rights, the abuse of minority shareholders or contract violations. But in order that corporate governance measures have a strong impact in the economy, a set of democratic, market institutions and legal system should be settled up. The Romanian governance system follows the patterns of the Continental European model based on the internal control of the employees and the management but with some particularities in function of the specific economic, political, cultural conditions.corporate governance, developing countries, principles, models, firm, performance

Failure by design: the rise and fall of a microfinance institution in Zambia – a case of Pride Zambia

Contemporary microfinance has been taken to task over a number of possible failings. At the same time insight into grassroots microfinance institution (MFI) failure is lacking. To that end this paper seeks to articulate and explain different stakeholder narratives about how a once promising Zambian microfinance institution actually failed while seeking to become a for-profit MFI. There are presently few in-depth studies of failed MFIs in those countries where microfinance is still emerging, just as it is in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and greater focus upon high profile performers in South Asia and Latin America, which leaves other developments in regions such as SSA much less represented. Using field data from Zambia this study examines the failure of Promotion of Rural Initiatives and Development Enterprises (PRIDE Zambia, hereafter PZ) initiative. It finds poorly practiced governance and accountability mechanisms, and unstable relationships between international donors and the Board, the Board and CEO and with middle management, to be central to its final failure. The study also reveals a lack of transparency and disregard for moral obligations, and poses serious questions about how it and its finances were managed and accounted for, even while this MFI still provided much needed financial services to the poor and vulnerable clients