The impact of environmental, social, and governance performance on stock prices: Evidence from the banking industry

After the global financial crisis, commercial banks have increased their social responsibility activities with the aim of reinforcing the credibility and trust that their stakeholders have in them. However, prior research about the value relevance for their financial stakeholders of these sustainable practices is scarce. In this context, the aim of this research is to examine whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of commercial banks listed on 20 different stock markets provides relevant information and has a significant impact on stock prices over the 2002-2015 period. Our overall results reveal that stock market investors value the three ESG pillars in a different manner. We also observe that the value relevance of ESG performance is significantly higher for banks from common law countries and after the global financial crisis. These findings could have several implications for internal and external stakeholders such as managers, investors, and market regulators.