Does corruption grease or sand the wheels of bank profitability in Ghana?

This paper investigates the effect of corruption on bank profitability in Ghana using bank-level dataset spanning 2008 to 2017. By employing the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique, the study finds a significant negative relationship between corruption and bank profitability. This supports the "sand the wheels" view on corruption and controverts the "grease the wheels" view, which hypothesizes that corruption boost firm performance. Controlling for bank-specific and macroeconomic factors, the findings further reveal that, while bank size, capital adequacy, and inflation have a significant positive effect on profitability, management efficiency and monetary policy rate negatively and significantly drive bank profits. The study discusses key implications for policy.