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

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.