COVID-19 implications for corporate social responsibility, corporate governance and profitability in banks: The case of Egypt

Abstract

This paper aims to measure the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Governance (CG), and profitability in listed Egyptian banks. COVID-19 is expected to affect this relationship if the year 2020 is taken. Profitability is measured by earnings per share (EPS), return on equity (ROE), and return on assets (ROA). CSR is measured as a dummy variable and CG is measured by the chief executive officer (CEO) duality. There are three control variables, such as the Islamic variable, which classifies a bank into Islamic or conventional, bank age, and bank size. The paper uses multiple regression and logistic regression models. The final sample is 12 banks consisting of 9 conventional banks and 3 Islamic banks (IBS). The results show no impact of profitability on CSR. The results prove a significant positive impact of profitability on CG; there is a significant negative relationship between CEO duality and EPS at a 0.05 level. CSR has a significant impact on CG at a 0.001 level. The results show a clear impact of COVID-19 on the impact of CSR on profitability only when measured by ROA at 0.001 in the period 2014–2019.