Maximizing shareholder wealth is one of the most important issues in the field of financial management. To achieve the above goal, increasing returns from investments and minimizing the cost of capital are considered two important strategies. And examining the factors affecting the reduction of the cost of capital can help financial management in achieving this important goal.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of board of directors characteristics on the cost of capital of banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange based on the financial statements of the banks studied for the years 2009 to 2012; In this study, the cost of capital is considered as the dependent variable, the number of board members, the composition of board members, and the financial knowledge of board members are considered as independent variables, as well as the size of the bank and financial leverage as control variables. This study includes three hypotheses, which were analyzed using SPSS 16 software and a linear regression model was used to test the hypotheses. The results of the study generally indicate that there is a significant relationship between the examined characteristics of the board of directors and the cost of capital of banks listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange.