The United Nations' Principles for Responsible Banking, CSR, and Corporate Governance in the Banking Industry

This chapter introduces the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Banking and their purpose. We also examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility preferences and bank performance and corporate governance. The employed global sample of banks covers a ten-year period before the launch of the Principles, that is, the years 2009–2018. The reported findings indicate that banks committed to the Principles for Responsible Banking underperform during the sample period compared to the banks in general. Moreover, the banks where the board members attend the board meetings more frequently outperform the banks with less active board meeting attendance rates. Finally, board experience, board size, and senior executive compensation are positively associated with firm performance.