Corporate Governance Practices and the Role of the Board of Directors : Evidence from UAE Conventional and Islamic Banks

The purpose of this study is to examine the United Arab Emirates (UAE) national banks' practices of corporate governance regarding the role of the board of directors in the formulation and implementation of bank policies and strategies. A modified questionnaire has been used with two parts; the first part covers general information, and the second part consists of 44 questions about eight characteristics of corporate governance. The targeted population of this study was the board of directors of UAE national banks. The results indicate that the UAE banks' board of directors are satisfied with the compensation system; they are aware of the importance of the relationship with the shareholders; they understand and develop a good relationship with stakeholders; the composition of the UAE banks' board of directors is appropriate; meetings of the UAE banks' board of directors are effective and productive; the UAE banks' board of directors are satisfied with the chairman's leadership skills and performance; and finally, the UAE banks' board of directors are aware of the requirements of corporate governance practices. Furthermore, the results indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between the role of the UAE banks' board of directors and their education background, as well as their experience, compensation and corporate governance awareness. In addition, the statistical results confirmed that there is no significant difference in the role of the board of directors between the UAE conventional banks and Islamic banks