IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v31y2024i6p5109-5121.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate governance, social responsibility and sustainability commitments by banks: Impacts on credit risk and performance

Author

Listed:
  • Kittima Ngamvilaikorn
  • Suntharee Lhaopadchan
  • Sirimon Treepongkaruna

Abstract

With the increasing pressures to commit to social and environmental issues, banks align with stakeholders' expectations via corporate social responsibility (CSR), and sustainable development goals (SDGs) initiatives. Understanding how these initiatives affect credit risk and performance of banks is crucial for the economy. Relying on the dynamic generalized method of moments and data on Thai listed commercial banks from 2015 to 2020, we find commitments to good governance, CSR and SDGs largely have an opposite effect on bank credit risk and performance. Consistent with stewardship or resource dependency hypothesis, together with stakeholder and good management hypothesis, banks with more female directors, higher levels of anti‐corruption and SDGs commitments are associated with a reduction in credit risk. However, consistent with queen bee hypothesis and agency and trade‐off hypothesis, banks with larger board size, more female directors and higher levels of CSR and SDGs commitments underperform. This apparent contradiction between negative impacts on bank performance and positive impacts on credit risk can be reconciled by understanding the trade‐offs involved, the long‐term focus of sustainability initiatives, leading to a decline in short‐term performance but enhancing their resilience to adverse events, ultimately reducing credit risk. Our findings enable stakeholders to make informed decisions, improve sustainable business practices, and contribute to the long‐term success of banks and the broader society.

Suggested Citation

  • Kittima Ngamvilaikorn & Suntharee Lhaopadchan & Sirimon Treepongkaruna, 2024. "Corporate governance, social responsibility and sustainability commitments by banks: Impacts on credit risk and performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(6), pages 5109-5121, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:31:y:2024:i:6:p:5109-5121
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.2852
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2852
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.2852?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gulamhussen, Mohamed Azzim & Santa, Sílvia Fonte, 2015. "Female directors in bank boardrooms and their influence on performance and risk-taking," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 10-23.
    2. Jutasompakorn, Pearpilai & Brooks, Robert & Brown, Christine & Treepongkaruna, Sirimon, 2014. "Banking crises: Identifying dates and determinants," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 150-166.
    3. Antonio Fabio Forgione & Issam Laguir & Raffaele Staglianò, 2020. "Effect of corporate social responsibility scores on bank efficiency: The moderating role of institutional context," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2094-2106, September.
    4. Justyna Fijałkowska & Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak & Przemysław Garsztka, 2018. "Corporate Social-Environmental Performance versus Financial Performance of Banks in Central and Eastern European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Battaglia, Francesca & Gallo, Angela, 2015. "Risk governance and Asian bank performance: An empirical investigation over the financial crisis," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 53-68.
    6. Carlos Lassala & Maria Orero-Blat & Samuel Ribeiro-Navarrete, 2021. "The financial performance of listed companies in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 427-449, January.
    7. Pathan, Shams, 2009. "Strong boards, CEO power and bank risk-taking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1340-1350, July.
    8. Segun Thompson Bolarinwa & Funmi Soetan, 2019. "The effect of corruption on bank profitability," Journal of Financial Crime, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(3), pages 753-773, July.
    9. Konishi, Masaru & Yasuda, Yukihiro, 2004. "Factors affecting bank risk taking: Evidence from Japan," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 215-232, January.
    10. Berger, Allen N. & Kick, Thomas & Schaeck, Klaus, 2014. "Executive board composition and bank risk taking," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 48-65.
    11. Freeman, R. Edward, 1994. "The Politics of Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Directions1," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 409-421, October.
    12. Vivi Alatas & Lisa Cameron & Ananish Chaudhuri & Nisvan Erkal & Lata Gangadharan, 2009. "Gender, Culture, and Corruption: Insights from an Experimental Analysis," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(3), pages 663-680, January.
    13. Diyan Lestari, 2018. "Corporate Governance, Capital Reserve, Non-Performing Loan, and Bank Risk Taking," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(2), pages 25-32.
    14. Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2018. "Bank lending behavior in emerging markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 129-134.
    15. Cristina Gutiérrez-López & Julio Abad-González, 2020. "Sustainability in the Banking Sector: A Predictive Model for the European Banking Union in the Aftermath of the Financial Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-25, March.
    16. Philip Baird & Pinar Geylani & Jeffrey Roberts, 2012. "Corporate Social and Financial Performance Re-Examined: Industry Effects in a Linear Mixed Model Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(3), pages 367-388, September.
    17. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    18. Swamy, Anand & Knack, Stephen & Lee, Young & Azfar, Omar, 2001. "Gender and corruption," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 25-55, February.
    19. Glen, Jack & Lee, Kevin & Singh, Ajit, 2001. "Persistence of profitability and competition in emerging markets," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 247-253, August.
    20. Anna Avrampou & Antonis Skouloudis & George Iliopoulos & Nadeem Khan, 2019. "Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from leading European banks," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 743-757, July.
    21. Khemaies Bougatef, 2017. "Determinants of bank profitability in Tunisia: does corruption matter?," Journal of Money Laundering Control, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(1), pages 70-78, January.
    22. Zulkufly Ramly & Sok-Gee Chan & Mohd Zulkhairi Mustapha & Noor Sharoja Sapiei, 2017. "Women on boards and bank efficiency in ASEAN-5: the moderating role of the independent directors," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 225-250, January.
    23. Heba Abou-El-Sood, 2017. "Corporate governance structure and capital adequacy: implications to bank risk taking," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(2), pages 165-185, April.
    24. J. Augusto Felício & Ricardo Rodrigues & Hugh Grove & Adam Greiner, 2018. "The influence of corporate governance on bank risk during a financial crisis," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 1078-1090, January.
    25. Richard M. Crossley & Mohamed H. Elmagrhi & Collins G. Ntim, 2021. "Sustainability and legitimacy theory: The case of sustainable social and environmental practices of small and medium‐sized enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3740-3762, December.
    26. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Elisa Aracil & Fernando Ubeda, 2020. "Using reputation for corporate sustainability to tackle banks digitalization challenges," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2181-2193, September.
    27. Guangyou Zhou & Lian Liu & Sumei Luo, 2022. "Sustainable development, ESG performance and company market value: Mediating effect of financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3371-3387, November.
    28. Toni Uhomoibhi ABURIME, 2009. "Impact of corruption on bank profitability in Nigeria," Proceedings of FIKUSZ '09, in: László Áron Kóczy (ed.),Proceedings of FIKUSZ '09, pages 7-16, Óbuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management.
    29. Muhammad Safdar Sial & Chunmei Zheng & Jacob Cherian & M.A. Gulzar & Phung Anh Thu & Tehmina Khan & Nguyen Vinh Khuong, 2018. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Mediate the Relation between Boardroom Gender Diversity and Firm Performance of Chinese Listed Companies?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, October.
    30. R. Edward Freeman, 2010. "Managing for Stakeholders: Trade-offs or Value Creation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 7-9, August.
    31. Bahoo, Salman, 2020. "Corruption in banks: A bibliometric review and agenda," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    32. Vivi Alatas & Lisa Cameron & Ananish Chaudhuri & Nisvan Erkal & Lata Gangadharan, 2009. "Gender, Culture, and Corruption: Insights from an Experimental Analysis," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(3), pages 663-680, January.
    33. Adelina Gschwandtner, 2005. "Profit persistence in the 'very' long run: evidence from survivors and exiters," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(7), pages 793-806.
    34. Heba Abou-El-Sood, 2017. "Corporate governance structure and capital adequacy: implications to bank risk taking," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(2), pages 165-185, April.
    35. Liang, Lien-Wen & Chang, Hai-Yen & Shao, Hao-Ling, 2018. "Does sustainability make banks more cost efficient?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 13-23.
    36. Ghulam Abid & Binish Khan & Zeeshan Rafiq & Alia Ahmed, 2014. "Theoretical Perspectives of Corporate Governance," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 3(4), pages 166-175, December.
    37. Prasopchoke Mongsawad, 2010. "The Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy: a contribution to the theory of development," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 17(1), pages 123-143, June.
    38. Melinda Muth & Lex Donaldson, 1998. "Stewardship Theory and Board Structure: a contingency approach," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 5-28, January.
    39. Hai-Yen Chang & Lien-Wen Liang & Yu-Luan Liu, 2021. "Using Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) and Financial Indicators to Measure Bank Cost Efficiency in Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
    40. Rachdi Houssem & Trabelsi Mohamed Ali & Trad Naama, 2013. "Banking Governance and Risk: The Case of Tunisian Conventional Banks," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 13(4), pages 195-206, December.
    41. Wintoki, M. Babajide & Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M., 2012. "Endogeneity and the dynamics of internal corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 581-606.
    42. Helena Isidro & Márcia Sobral, 2015. "The Effects of Women on Corporate Boards on Firm Value, Financial Performance, and Ethical and Social Compliance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 1-19, November.
    43. Ghosh, Saibal, 2018. "Governance reforms and performance of MENA banks: Are disclosures effective?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 78-95.
    44. Rashedul Hasan & Mohammad Dulal Miah & M. Kabir Hassan, 2022. "The nexus between environmental and financial performance: Evidence from gulf cooperative council banks," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 2882-2907, November.
    45. Stefano Dell'Atti & Annarita Trotta & Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi & Federica Demaria, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement as a Determinant of Bank Reputation: An Empirical Analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 589-605, November.
    46. Caterina Di Tommaso & John Thornton, 2020. "Do ESG scores effect bank risk taking and value? Evidence from European banks," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2286-2298, September.
    47. Mahmoud Arayssi & Mustafa Dah & Mohammad Jizi, 2016. "Women on boards, sustainability reporting and firm performance," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(3), pages 376-401, September.
    48. Azmi, Wajahat & Hassan, M. Kabir & Houston, Reza & Karim, Mohammad Sydul, 2021. "ESG activities and banking performance: International evidence from emerging economies," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhou, Yifan & Kara, Alper & Molyneux, Philip, 2019. "Chair-CEO generation gap and bank risk-taking," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 352-372.
    2. Hai-Yen Chang & Lien-Wen Liang & Yu-Luan Liu, 2021. "Using Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) and Financial Indicators to Measure Bank Cost Efficiency in Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Nguyen, Thi Hong Hanh & Ntim, Collins G. & Malagila, John K., 2020. "Women on corporate boards and corporate financial and non-financial performance: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Roberto Fernández-Gago & Laura Cabeza-García & Mariano Nieto, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility, board of directors, and firm performance: an analysis of their relationships," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 85-104, January.
    5. Danisman, Gamze Ozturk & Tarazi, Amine, 2024. "ESG activity and bank lending during financial crises," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    6. Poletti-Hughes, Jannine & Briano-Turrent, Guadalupe C., 2019. "Gender diversity on the board of directors and corporate risk: A behavioural agency theory perspective," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 80-90.
    7. Elnahass, Marwa & Alharbi, Rana & Mohamed, Toka S. & McLaren, Josie, 2024. "Women directors’ attributes and demographics: New insights into bank risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    8. Mohamed Marie & Hany Kamel & Israa Elbendary, 2021. "How does internal governance affect banks’ financial stability? Empirical evidence from Egypt," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(3), pages 240-255, September.
    9. Zulkufly Ramly & Nurusysyifa Nordin, 2018. "Sharia Supervision Board, Board Independence, Risk Committee and Risk-taking of Islamic Banks in Malaysia," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(4), pages 290-300.
    10. Simms Mensah Kyei & Nereida Polovina & Seyram Pearl Kumah, 2022. "The dynamic relationship between bank risk and corporate governance in Africa," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 2124597-212, December.
    11. Sila, Vathunyoo & Gonzalez, Angelica & Hagendorff, Jens, 2016. "Women on board: Does boardroom gender diversity affect firm risk?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 26-53.
    12. Abou-El-Sood, Heba, 2021. "Board gender diversity, power, and bank risk taking," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    13. Catarina Fernandes & Jorge Farinha & Francisco Vitorino Martins & Cesario Mateus, 2018. "Bank governance and performance: a survey of the literature," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(3), pages 236-256, July.
    14. Farag, Hisham & Dickinson, David, 2020. "The power of Connections: Evidence from financial companies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Monika Klimontowicz & Anna Losa-Jonczyk & Bogna Zacny, 2021. "Banks’ Energy Behavior: Impacts of the Disparity in the Quality and Quantity of the Disclosures," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-14, November.
    16. Fiordelisi, Franco & Ricci, Ornella & Santilli, Gianluca, 2023. "Environmental engagement and stock price crash risk: Evidence from the European banking industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    17. Elnahass, Marwa & Alharbi, Rana & Mohamed, Toka S. & McLaren, Josie, 2023. "The Nexus among board diversity and bank stability: Implications from gender, nationality and education," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    18. Walter Gontarek & Yacine Belghitar, 2018. "Risk governance: Examining its impact upon bank performance and risk‐taking," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 187-224, December.
    19. Bhatia, Madhur & Gulati, Rachita, 2021. "Board governance and bank performance: A meta- analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    20. Abid, Ammar & Gull, Ammar Ali & Hussain, Nazim & Nguyen, Duc Khuong, 2021. "Risk governance and bank risk-taking behavior: Evidence from Asian banks," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:31:y:2024:i:6:p:5109-5121. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.