The Current Status of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure of Islamic Shari-based Banking Companies in Bangladesh

The purpose of this study is to examine the current extent and any difference (if any) in CSR disclosure of Islamic Sharia-based banking companies in Bangladesh during 2011-2015. Content analysis is adopted to accumulate the data from the company’s annual reports. The CSR checklist comprises sixteen dimensions (including 85 items) of CSR activities, i.e., ‘Environment’, Disaster management, ‘Sports, Shelter, Women, Disabled, Liberation war, Health, Education, Energy, Minorities, Employee, Product responsibility, IT, Community and Government. The study reveals that the grand mean disclosure of CSR information in the annual reports of Islamic banks is 25.89%, with a standard deviation of 5.49%. Empirical evidence shows a statistically significant difference in CSR disclosure among Islamic Sharia-based banking companies in Bangladesh. But there is no significant difference in CSR disclosure in the Islamic banking industry in Bangladesh year to year. Moreover, CSR disclosure of Islamic Shari-based banking companies is not diversified but concentrates on specific dimensions and items of CSR. The study is mainly based on annual reports for the financial year 2011-2015 of Islamic Sharia-based banking companies in Bangladesh. Hence, the conclusion reached cannot be generalized.