The relationship between the profitability of leasing companies and corporate governance practices

In its most general definition, financial leasing is the economic leasing of an asset, although the ownership right is in a company. Financial leasing is a leading area of the capital-intensive sector, with an increasing volume in recent years. Today, with the increase in communication and transportation opportunities and the spread of production, the financial leasing process has become more common. Corporate governance, on the other hand, is the reassurance of management structures to all stakeholders in a business or organization. In financial leasing transactions, trust and therefore corporate governance are of great importance for both the lessor and the lessee. In the research, the data of financial leasing companies registered in Borsa Istanbul between the years 2012-2021 were taken. Financial leverage ratio, size, return on assets and return on equity parameters were used to show firm performance as the dependent variable. It is aimed to econometrically measure the relationship between the profitability indicators of financially important companies and the indicators of corporate governance practices. According to the results of the research, according to the results of the random effects analysis for return on assets (roa), the effect of the number of independent members of the board of directors, the percentage of institutional investors, age and size series on the return on assets is significant. According to the regression coefficients, the number of female members in the board of directors has a positive effect on roa; corporate governance committee, age and size series have a negative effect. According to the results of the fixed effects analysis for return on equity (roe), only the number of female members in the board of directors has a significant and positive effect on roe. However, both the effect of other variables on roe and the explanatory power of the model in general are not significant. As a result, although corporate governance practices have a significant effect on return on assets ratios, it is seen that the effect on return on equity is not significant. From a financial point of view, it is possible to associate this situation with the fact that investments are made in Turkey with more short terms and high profits. Keywords: Corporate governance, leasing, firm performance, return on assets, return on equity.