ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the impact of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) on bank performance (FP) in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) region. The sample consists of 46 listed banks between 2007–2019. FP is measured through accounting (Return on Assets Return on Equity) and market indicators (Tobin’s Q Stock Return ). We test the effect of ESG and its quadratic term on FP by controlling for bank-specific, macroeconomic and financial development variables. Our results support the presence of a non-linear ESG–FP relationship. ESG incremental investments remain beneficial till reaching an inflection point. Interestingly, the financial development variables are significant, while ESG pillars follow different patterns. Governance pillar has a concave relationship with accounting performance while environmental pillar has a convex relationship with the market return. The ESG–FP relationship depends on three vectors: pillars; measure of FP; and level of ESG. Banks should determine ESG turning points to rationalize their investments and contemplate efficient returns.

摘要

本研究旨在调查环境、社会和治理 (ESG) 对中东、北非和土耳其 (MENAT) 地区银行绩效 (FP) 的影响。样本由 2007 年至 2019 年间的 46 家上市银行组成。FP 是通过会计（资产回报率、股本回报率）和市场指标（托宾的 Q 股票回报率）来衡量的。我们通过控制特定银行、宏观经济和金融发展变量来测试 ESG 及其二次项对 FP 的影响。我们的结果支持非线性 ESG-FP 关系的存在。ESG 增量投资在达到拐点之前仍然有利。有趣的是，金融发展变量很重要，而 ESG 支柱遵循不同的模式。治理支柱与会计业绩呈凹向关系，而环境支柱与市场回报呈凸向关系。ESG–FP 关系取决于三个向量：支柱；测量 FP；和 ESG 水平。银行应确定 ESG 转折点，以合理化投资并考虑有效回报。