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Archive » April 2025 » Esg performance of banks: How relevant is ownership structure?

Esg performance of banks: How relevant is ownership structure?

Paolo Fiorillo, Gianluca Santilli
April 2025 - n. 4
Keywords: Esg, banche, azionisti
Jel codes: C33, G21, G32, Q56

Analysing the link between the sustainability profiles of banks and their shareholders is crucial to understanding whether they share and approach sustainability in the same way. This study examines the relationship between the Esg performance of shareholders and that of banks, using an international sample. The results indicate that the average Esg scores of shareholders are positively and significantly associated with the governance scores of investee banks. Furthermore, interactions with country-level sustainability indicators show that country contexts influence the effectiveness of Esg practices. Implications suggest that higher Esg profiles by shareholders may request for improvements in bank governance. Future research could deepen the impact of Esg pillars in specific regulatory contexts.

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