This study examined empirically the impact of audit committee characteristics on non-performing loans in Nigerian Deposits banks. For the purpose of this research work, secondary data was used and the instruments of data collection were financial statements. The study adopts Ex-post factor research (after the fact) design. The population of the study is 15 banks according to the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The sample size is the entire population of the study. The Study made use of multiple regression analysis and specifically the panel data regression technique. The Hausman test was used to determine the suitable regression. The result of the Hausman test showed the random effect. The findings suggested that the inclusion of financial expertise in audit committee leads to reduced level of non-performing loans in listed banks in Nigeria. Although insignificant, the relationship between the audit committee meetings and non-performing loans also revealed a negative influence. While the influence of audit committee independence on non-performing loans revealed a positive relationship. Therefore, the study recommends that financial experts on the audit committee should take in cognizance of the negative effect of increased non-performing on the performance of the listed banks and the committee meetings should discussed the ways in which non-performing loans are reduced.
Keywords: Corporate Governance, Non-Performing Loans, audit committee characteristics
