Information technology governance and bank performance: evidence from Palestine

Abstract

This study aims to assess the impact of IT governance on banks’ financial performance in the context of Palestine while controlling for bank-specific and governance variables. The sample consists of six local banks listed on the Palestine Exchange over the period 2008–2019. While IT governance is proxied by the presence of IT experience within board of directors and within executive management, performance is provided by two accounting measures, namely Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). Using a path analysis and a General Linear Model (GLM), results show that there is a positive impact of IT governance on both performance measures, only when measured by IT executives. Our results highlight the importance of IT governance and confirm the need to develop and improve the corporate governance codes in Palestine to strengthen IT governance.