ESG practices and bank efficiency: new evidence from an oil-driven economy

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether banks’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives increase or decrease banks’ efficiency. Design/methodology/approach - The sample used includes all listed banks in Saudi Arabia over the years 2016–2021. The authors performed different methods, including data envelopment analysis (DEA), ordinary least squares (OLS) and quantile regressions. Findings - The OLS regression results show a negative linkage between ESG and banks’ efficiency. Further, the quantile regression analysis indicates that the ESG effect on banks' efficiency is negative across different quantiles. However, the DEA method shows that the DEA-generated scores for Banks’ efficiency are higher for ESG-adjusted scores in comparison to efficiency scores without incorporating ESG. Further, the comparison of the DEA-generated efficiency scores, over the sample period, of adjusted ESG banks still suffers from decreasing in their efficiency over the years. Concerning existing theory, the results are consistent with the stakeholders and the resource-based theories postulating that banks' ESG practices are ethical commitments and enable firms to gain competitive advantage and increase their reputation among stakeholders. Practical implications - The findings of this study offer important implications for regulators and bankers. Policymakers and bank regulators should make collective efforts to encourage financial institutions to adopt green finance initiatives to create an efficient financial system capable of counteracting risks from the external environment and stimulating economic growth. Banks’ managers should be aware that ESG initiatives serve society and the environment and offer a positive influence on banks’ efficiency. Originality/value - To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the influence of ESG activities on banks' efficiency using DEA for banks in Saudi Arabia.