Corporate governance disclosure compliance: a comparison between conventional and Islamic banks

Abstract

The paper examines the extent and trend of corporate governance (CG) disclosure compliance by listed conventional and Islamic banks in Qatar, the UAE and KSA. The study found that conventional banks had more compliance compared to Islamic banks. The extent of the disclosure has increased for the sample period overall. The findings are considered interesting for many stakeholders (e.g., banks’ management, shareholders, investors, relevant authorities) in the GCC countries. It helps the banks to better understand their current compliance of CG disclosure practices and identify the current challenges, hence, reduce the gap of none-compliance. Moreover, the findings are essential for the authorities to identify the strength and weakness of compliance with the CG code, thereby providing a platform to make the necessary actions to improve it. Furthermore, the findings are beneficial for the shareholders and investors to understand current CG disclosure, thus, they may better evaluate their performance and governance for decision making.