The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of board characteristics on financial performance of listed banks in Nigeria. Board characteristics studied comprise board size, board composition, board financial expertise and board meetings. The study employed the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to test the hypotheses formulated for the study, while controlling board size and composition. Using panel data from listed banks in Nigeria, it was found that board composition was statistically significant to financial performance and has a positive impact while all other listed factors do not affect financial performance. The study, however, contributes to the understanding of the board-performance link by examining both the traditional variables such as board size, composition, financial expertise and meetings respectively. The results provide an insight for practitioners and policy makers on the importance of relying on institutional specifics in the prescription of corporate governance codes. The study adds value to the global corporate governance discourse in two ways: first, the use of Nigeria, which is claimed to have one of the weakest business cultures in the world, and secondly, using a good number of proxies that are country-specific for corporate boards.