The Impact of Diversity of Board Members on the Financial Performance of Lebanese and Syrian Banks: A Comparative Study

This research aims to investigate the relationship between board diversity and the financial performance of banks listed on the Beirut Securities Exchange (BSE) and Damascus Stock Exchange (DSE) in Lebanon and Syria, respectively. The study adopts a quantitative approach, employing hypothesis testing and analyzing secondary data from the banks' annual reports over a ten-year period from 2010 to 2019. The analysis includes descriptive statistics and inferential statistical techniques. Furthermore, panel data regression analysis is employed to examine the influence of board diversity variables, specifically the return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA), on the financial performance of the banks. This study examines the impact of board diversity on the financial performance of banks listed on the exchanges in Lebanon and Syria. The findings reveal that gender diversity does not significantly affect financial performance, while age diversity has a positive influence. Education diversity positively impacts the financial performance of banks on the Damascus Stock Exchange but not on the Beirut Securities Exchange. Board experience diversity does not have an impact on financial performance in both countries.