Every sector of the global economy is faced with environmental problems and their resulting consequences to their day-to-day operations. Due to the rising threat of global climate change, the green banking (GB) concept has been given significant attention in recent green finance literature. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to identify the impact of GB practices on banks’ environmental performance and sources of green financing of private commercial banks (PCBs) in Bangladesh. Using a survey method, the primary data were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 322 banking employees of PCBs in Bangladesh. In order to identify the key relationships existing between the study variables, structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was employed. The empirical findings indicated that banks’ employees, daily-operations, and policy-related GB practices have significant positive effects on green financing, contrary to banks’ customer-related GB practice, which was not statistically significant. Additionally, banks’ green project financing exhibited a strong and positive influence on banks’ environmental performance. Moreover, banks’ daily operation and policy-related practices of GB were observed to have significant impacts on banks’ environmental performances, in contrast to banks’ employee and customer-related GB practices. Therefore, major policy implications and directions for future research in the concerned area are discussed.

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The Effect of Green Banking Practices on Banks’ Environmental Performance and Green Financing: An Empirical Study

There was no previous firm-level empirical research to examine cross-sectional differences in climate financing. The purpose of this study is to determine the key elements of the climate investment decision by business management. The study also explores how politics and media influence corporate climate investment decisions.,The study incorporates a theoretical lens of institutional, stakeholder and media setting agenda to explain the relationship of climate finance with political connection and media influence along with other institutional and firm-specific variables. The sample of the study is collected from the financial sector firms that financed climate/green projects. In total, 178 firm-year observations are documented during 2014–2018. The unbalanced panel data model uses a fixed effect and a 2SLS regression model to test a set of hypotheses. The study uses several alternate methods to check and verify the reliability of the study.,The empirical findings show that climate finance is positively and significantly associated with Islamic Sharīʿah and media visibility, and negatively and significantly related to financial constraints. Moreover, the empirical results document that listing regulation has no significant influence on climate investment. The political connection plays a negative moderating role between media and climate finance. The result indicates that if a former or current politician is on the board, the media’s positive impact on climate financing diminishes.,The study has significant managerial implications especially to the regulatory bodies, business management and policymakers. The central bank in the developing countries needs to take into consideration the finding of the study promoting climate/environmental/green finance and investment. Islamic Sharīʿah promotes climate finance that would be a prominent indicator for Islamic financial institutions.,Politics can deter positive decisions on climate financing such that it negatively influences the media’s role of a watchdog of the society in developing countries. Climate investment would be an important mechanism to reduce carbon emissions and environmental hazards and to solve many social problems.,The study provides first-ever firm-level evidence of the determinants of climate finance and investment that has a significant value in the area of climate change and green investment by the financial firms.

Determinants of climate financing and the moderating effect of politics: evidence from Bangladesh

The main purpose of this study is to identify the impact of green banking activities on green financing and banks’ environmental performance. It also identifies the mediating effect of green financing on the relationship between green banking activities and environmental performance of private commercial banks (PCBs) in Bangladesh. Besides, this study also examines the major challenges and benefits of green banking development in an emerging economy like Bangladesh. The convenience sampling technique was used to collect primary data from bankers of PCBs in Bangladesh, and a final sample size of 352 was recorded. To assess the relationship among the study variables, the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was employed. The empirical results revealed that green banking activities exhibit a significantly positive effect on banks’ environmental performance and sources of green financing, and that sources of green financing significantly influence banks’ environmental performance. Additionally, it was observed that green financing mediates the association between green banking activities and banks’ environmental performance. Furthermore, the study identified customers’ insufficient awareness towards green banking, high investment costs, technical obstacles, lack of capable and competent staff in appraising green credits/loans, and difficulties and complexity in assessing green projects as major challenges affecting the development of green banking in Bangladesh. Moreover, the study also discovered that increasing banks’ competitiveness, reducing long-term costs and expenses, providing online banking facilities, improving customers’ goodwill, and reducing carbon footprints are the key benefits of green banking development, as it helps in the achievement of the sustainable economic development of the country. Therefore, major theoretical and managerial policy implications are further discussed with study limitations and future research directions.

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Do Green Banking Activities Improve the Banks’ Environmental Performance? The Mediating Effect of Green Financing

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institution (AAOIFI) governance disclosure in Islamic Banks.,To test the research hypotheses, the authors created a comprehensive AAOIFI governance disclosure index and used regression analysis for a sample of Islamic banks for the financial years within the period 2013-2015.,The authors found that audit committee size is the main determinant of the AAOIFI governance disclosure.,This study has a number of limitations that could be taken as avenues for a future study such as, the study used the six variables of CG and the four variables of firm characteristics, based on available data. This research is limited to just Islamic banks.,The research contributes to Islamic accounting literature by identifying the driver for the AAOIFI governance disclosure for Islamic banks that mandatorily adopt AAOIFI standards.

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The determinants of AAOIFI governance disclosure in Islamic banks

Bibliometric and Scientometric analysis on CSR practices in the banking sector

Underpinning the benefits of green banking: A comparative study between Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of corporate governance disclosure in the annual reports of listed conventional and Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Out of fifty-six scheduled banks in Bangladesh, a sample of thirty-nine banks is selected, and data for the sample is extracted from the annual reports covering a period of 2011 to 2014. As such, the study focused on the extent of CGC after the stock market crisis in 2010 in Bangladesh. This results in the final observations of 116 which were used to perform balanced panel regression analysis. Fixed effect model is found significant for the balanced panel model which indicates that appointment of large audit firms negatively affects the extent of corporate governance compliance. Pooled OLS regression established that while profitability has a negative influence, the size of banks positively affects the extent of CGC. This study has focused on the commercial banks and thus results obtained from the study may not be representative for public and foreign banks operating in Bangladesh. Statistical evidence provided by the study provides guidelines for the policymakers toward necessary governance reforms required for banks to successfully operate in a post-crisis environment. Factors established by the study that influences corporate governance compliance using a balanced panel model are unique in the context of developing countries. Evidence of a difference in governance compliance between Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh establishes a new research arena and a necessary shift from the traditional performance comparisons.

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Kashfia Sharmeen

Papers

Underpinning the benefits of green banking: A comparative study between Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh

Influence of Internal and External Governance Mechanisms on Corporate Governance Disclosure among Islamic and Conventional Banks