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There have been various forms of regulatory intervention by the central banks of countries to streamline microfinance activities and ensure effective corporate governance of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Considering the limited amount of research in this area and the need to ensure regulatory effectiveness, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of regulatory provisions on the attainment of effective corporate governance in MFIs in Nigeria and Zambia.

Interviews were conducted with regulators at the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bank of Zambia, directors and executive management officers of MFIs and executives of apex associations of MFIs in both countries.

The paper presents five significant findings which are that the regulations have enabled negative outcomes in areas such as board composition, the ownership requirements in the regulations …