The Impact of the NFI Directive on the Scope and Quality of Financial Institutions’ CSR Reporting – the Case of the Polish Banking Sector

Abstract

Until recently, CSR reporting in most EU countries was voluntary and not regulated by the State. However, many, especially large companies, have disclosed additional non-financial information on a voluntary basis in various ways. The situation changed with the entry into force of the EU Directive on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information, which required over 6,000 EU companies to report non-financial information. The aim of the article is to examine how the implementation of Directive 2014/95 / EU influenced the scope and quality of CSR reporting practices of financial institutions on the example of the Polish banking sector. The analysis in this study covered the content of non-financial information of the largest Polish banks listed on WIG Banki, a sub-index of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The findings indicate that the banking sector reporting practices, although significantly improved, are still at an early stage. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the research results are the first to present an in-depth analysis of the impact of the NFI Directive on the CSR reports of financial institutions and their reviews. The findings of this study adds to our current knowledge and provides an overview of banking sector reporting practices, showing strengths and weaknesses in this area. The characteristics of banking sector practices presented in this document can help other financial institutions with CSR reporting and encourage them to adhere to recognized standards.

Sustainability reporting in banks: History of studies and a conceptual framework for thinking about the future by learning from the past

“…Furthermore, the number of sustainability reports published in this phase has grown exponentially, reaching a total of 511 documents, almost quadruple compared to the multidimensional phase. Although even before the introduction of the obligation many banks already published sustainability reports, the transition from voluntary to mandatory non‐financial disclosure affected over 6000 EU companies (Berniak‐Woźny & Wójcik‐Jurkiewicz, 2021; Paolone et al, 2021).…”