ESG disclosure and financial performance: Empirical study of Vietnamese commercial banks
-
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/bbs.19(1).2024.18
-
Article InfoVolume 19 2024, Issue #1, pp. 208-220
- Cited by
- 1047 Views
-
353 Downloads
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure becomes vital for banks to be transparent and accountable for their investments and lending decisions to shareholders, regulators, and society. The potential enhancement of shareholder value through ESG disclosure is still inconsistent. Empirical studies on the association between ESG disclosure and financial performance are mixed and limited in emerging economies. This study aims to examine whether ESG disclosure impacts the financial performance of 24 Vietnamese commercial banks in terms of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and net interest margin (NIM). The study uses the feasible generalized least squares estimation method based on panel data from 2018 to 2022. The study employs content analysis on 12 themes related to environmental, social, and governance pillars to score policy disclosure based on the Fair Finance Guide Methodology. The results highlight the positive effects of ESG policy disclosure, individual environment disclosure (E), and individual governance disclosure (G) on bank financial performance. Notably, ESG, E, and G have the largest influence on ROE, with coefficients of 0.051, 0.036, and 0.027, respectively, at a 5% significance level. However, the study does not provide evidence of a statistically significant association between social disclosure and financial performance. These results provide empirical evidence for regulators and bank managers to shape ESG policies and practices aligning with international standards.
Acknowledgment
ESG disclosure score of 11 banks as primary data in this study is conducted under the project coordinated by the Fair Finance Vietnam coalition, as part of Fair Finance International.
- Keywords
-
JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)G21, G32, M14, G34
-
References52
-
Tables5
-
Figures0
-
- Table 1. Summary of variables
- Table 2. Summary of ESG themes
- Table 3. Descriptive statistics of variables
- Table 4. Pearson correlations between variables in the model
- Table 5. Panel regression results of the impact of ESG commitments on the financial performance of commercial banks
-
- Akhter, F., Hossain, M. R., Elrehail, H., Rehman, S. U., & Almansour, B. (2022). Environmental disclosures and corporate attributes, from the lens of legitimacy theory: a longitudinal analysis on a developing country. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 32(3), 342-369.
- Aydoğmuş, M., Gulay, G., & Ergun, K. (2022). Impact of ESG Performance on Firm Value and Profitability. Borsa Istanbul Review, 22(2), 119-127.
- Azmi, W., Hassan, M. K., Houston, R., & Karim, M. S. (2020). ESG activities and banking performance: International evidence from emerging economies. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 70, 101277.
- Bai, X., Han, J., Ma, Y., & Zhang, W. (2022). ESG performance, institutional investors’ preference and financing constraints: Empirical evidence from China. Borsa Istanbul Review, 22(S2), 57-S168.
- Bătae, O. M., Dragomir, V. D., & Feleagă, L. (2020). Environmental, social, governance (ESG), and financial performance of European banks. Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, 19(3), 480-501.
- Berger, A. N., & di Patti, E. B. (2006). Capital structure and firm performance: A new approach to testing agency theory and an application to the banking industry. Journal of Banking & Finance, 30(4), 1065-1102.
- Boiral, O., Heras-Saizarbitoria, I., & Brotherton, M.-C. (2017). Assessing and Improving the Quality of Sustainability Reports: The Auditors’ Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 155(3), 703-721.
- Buallay, A. (2020). Sustainability reporting and firm’s performance: Comparative study between manufacturing and banking sectors. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 69(3), 431-445.
- Buallay, A., Fadel, S. M., Alajmi, J., & Saudagaran, S. (2021). Sustainability reporting and bank performance after financial crisis: evidence from developed and developing countries. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 31(4), 747-770.
- Bui, H. T. T. (2021). The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Financial Performance: An Empirical Study of Commercial Banks in Vietnam. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(10), 373-383.
- Chiaramonte, L., Dreassi, A., Girardone, C., & Piserà, S. (2021). Do ESG strategies enhance bank stability during financial turmoil? Evidence from Europe. The European Journal of Finance, 28(12), 1173-1211.
- Deegan, C. (2014). An overview of legitimacy theory as applied within the social and environmental accounting literature. In Sustainability Accounting and Accountability (pp. 248-272). Routledge.
- Di Tommaso, C., & Thornton, J. (2020). Do ESG scores affect bank risk taking and value? Evidence from European banks. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(5), 2286-2298.
- Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). The impact of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Management Science, 60(11), 2835-2857.
- Esteban-Sanchez, P., de la Cuesta-González, M., & Paredes-Gazquez, J. D. (2017). Corporate social performance and its relation with corporate financial performance: International evidence in the banking industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, 1102-1110.
- Fair Finance Asia (FFA). (2020). Towards sustainable finance. Environmental, social, and governance commitments in the banking industry: Case study of 10 Vietnamese commercial banks. Hanoi, Vietnam.
- Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic Management: a Stakeholder Approach. Pitman.
- Freeman, R. E. (1994). The Politics of Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Directions. Business Ethics Quarterly, 4(4), 409-421.
- Friede, G., Busch, T., & Bassen, A. (2015). ESG and financial performance: aggregated evidence from more than 2000 empirical studies. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 5(4), 210-233.
- Friedman, A. L., & Miles, S. (2002). Developing stakeholder theory. Journal of Management Studies, 39(1), 1-21.
- Khlif, H., Guidara, A., & Souissi, M. (2015). Corporate social and environmental disclosure and corporate performance. Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, 5(1), 51-69.
- Laplane, J., Van Loenen, L., & Van Gelder, J. (2023). Fair Finance Guide Methodology 2023 A methodology for the assessment of responsible investment and finance policies of financial institutions. Profundo: Research and Advice.
- Lee, D. D., Fan, J. H., & Wong, V. S. H. (2020). No more excuses! Performance of ESG-integrated portfolios in Australia. Accounting & Finance, 61(S1), 2407-2450.
- Lee, M.-T. (2016). Corporate social responsibility and stock price crash risk. Managerial Finance, 42(10), 963-979.
- Liu, M., Zhou, C., Lu, F., & Hu, X. (2021). Impact of the implementation of carbon emission trading on corporate financial performance: Evidence from listed companies in China. PLOS ONE, 16(7), e0253460.
- Matthiesen, M.-L., & Salzmann, A. J. (2017). Corporate social responsibility and firms’ cost of equity: how does culture matter? Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, 24(1), 105-124.
- Melinda, A., & Wardhani, R. (2020). The Effect of Environmental, Social, Governance, and Controversies on Firms’ Value: Evidence from Asia. Advanced Issues in the Economics of Emerging Markets, 27, 147-173.
- Menicucci, E., & Paolucci, G. (2022). ESG dimensions and bank performance: an empirical investigation in Italy. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 23(3), 563-586.
- Mohammad, W. M. W., & Wasiuzzaman, S. (2021). Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure, competitive advantage and performance of firms in Malaysia. Cleaner Environmental Systems, 2(1), 100015.
- Naeem, N., Cankaya, S., & Bildik, R. (2022). Does ESG performance affect the financial performance of environmentally sensitive industries? A comparison between emerging and developed markets. Borsa Istanbul Review, 22(2), S128-S140.
- Nguyen, L. T., & Nguyen, K. V. (2020). The impact of corporate social responsibility on the risk of commercial banks with different levels of financial constraint. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 13(1), 98-116.
- Ongore, V. O., & Kusa, G. B. (2013). Determinants of Financial Performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 3(1), 237-252.
- Parkhi, S., Bhimavarapu, V. M., Karande, K., Rastogi, S., & Rawal, A. (2022). Does Bank Transparency and Disclosure with ESG and Financial Distress Impact Its Valuation? Perspectives from Indian Banks. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business (JAFEB), 9(9), 235-239.
- Perego, P., & Kolk, A. (2012). Multinationals’ Accountability on Sustainability: The Evolution of Third-party Assurance of Sustainability Reports. Journal of Business Ethics, 110(2), 173-190.
- Petria, N., Capraru, B., & Ihnatov, I. (2015). Determinants of Banks’ Profitability: Evidence from EU 27 Banking Systems. Procedia Economics and Finance, 20, 518-524.
- Saygili, E., Arslan, S., & Birkan, A. O. (2022). ESG practices and corporate financial performance: Evidence from Borsa Istanbul. Borsa Istanbul Review, 22(3), 525-533.
- Scholtens, B. (2006). Finance as a Driver of Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 68(1), 19-33.
- Shakil, M. H., Mahmood, N., Tasnia, M., & Munim, Z. H. (2019). Do environmental, social and governance performance affect the financial performance of banks? A cross-country study of emerging market banks. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 30(6), 1331-1344.
- Soana, M. G. (2011). The relationship between corporate social performance and corporate financial performance in the banking sector. Journal of Business Ethics, 104, 133-148.
- Soni, T. K. (2023). Demystifying the relationship between ESG and SDG performance: Study of emerging economies. Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 20(3), 1-12.
- Stemler, S. (2001). An overview of content analysis. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 7(1).
- Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571-610.
- Sudiyatno, B., Bagana, B. D., Hardiyanti, W., Puspitasari, E., & Safitri, S. D. (2024). The role of corporate social responsibility as a moderating factor in influencing bank performance in Indonesia. Banks and Bank Systems, 19(1), 1-11.
- Thich, N. V., & Hang, B. T. T. (2023). Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: An Empirical Study on Vietnam Commercial Banks. International Journal of Management and Economics Invention, 9(04), 2868-2878.
- Tran, Q. T., Vo, T. D., & Le, X. T. (2021). Relationship Between Profitability and Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Evidence from Vietnamese Listed Banks. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(3), 875-883.
- Utz, S. (2017). Corporate scandals and the reliability of ESG assessments: evidence from an international sample. Review of Managerial Science, 13(2), 483-511.
- Whelan, T., Atz, U., & Clark, C. (2021). ESG AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: Uncovering the Relationship by Aggregating Evidence from 1,000 Plus Studies Published between 2015–2020.
- Wilmshurst, T. D., & Frost, G. R. (2000). Corporate environmental reporting. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 13(1), 10-26.
- Wong, W. C., Batten, J. A., Ahmad, A. H., Mohamed-Arshad, S. B., Nordin, S., & Adzis, A. A. (2021). Does ESG certification add firm value? Finance Research Letters, 39, 101593.
- World Economic Forum. (2013). The Future Role of Civil Society World Scenario Series. (2013).
- Wu, M.-W., & Shen, C.-H. (2013). Corporate social responsibility in the banking industry: Motives and financial performance. Journal of Banking & Finance, 37(9), 3529-3547.
- Zahid, R. M. A., Khan, M. K., Anwar, W., & Maqsood, U. S. (2022). The Role of Audit Quality in the ESG-Corporate Financial Performance Nexus: Empirical Evidence from Western European Companies. Borsa Istanbul Review, 22(2), S200-S212.