This study examines the relationship between regulatory compliance and the financial performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria from 2013 to 2023, using return on assets (ROA) as the performance measure. It focuses on four compliance indicators: regulatory contraventions, unresolved customer complaints, litigation claims, and penalties or fines. Using secondary data from banks’ annual reports and a panel data approach with ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation, supported by unit root and descriptive analyses, the results show that contraventions, complaints, and penalties do not have a significant effect on ROA. In contrast, litigation claims exert a significant negative impact, indicating that legal exposures materially reduce profitability. The study concludes that enforcement mechanisms need strengthening and recommends stricter regulatory sanctions alongside the establishment of effective compliance units within banks to ensure adherence to regulatory standards.