Enhancing sustainability reporting and greening the finance system: institutionalization and practices in China's banking sector

Compared to traditional polluters, financial sector sustainability accounting has received limited attention. Following institutional theory, we examine China's banks' commitment to sustainability reporting. Utilizing electronic database and manually collected data, we examine 126 firm-year observations from 2010 to 2017 on 21 listed banks. We apply content analysis to examine their sustainability, including 'green credit', disclosures, before and after issue of regulatory guidance. We address: (1) What changes occurred in the extent and content of these disclosures? (2) What impacts did the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) 2012 issue of the 'Green Credit Guidelines' have on their level and quality? (3) Do State ownership and control generate intra-sector differences in disclosures? We find China's banks have progressively committed to sustainable development through adopting sustainability reporting. However, the trend is non-linear. Two reporting peaks are identified, 2012 and 2016, aligning with emerging regulatory pressures. Additionally, large state-controlled banks have better external reporting.