Sustainability Reporting and Financial Performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines how sustainability reporting is useful for assessing the financial performance of listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. Specifically, the study focuses on the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability reporting using “Return on Assets”, “Return on Equity” and “Earnings per Share” as proxies for financial performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria from 2012 to 2018. The sample of the study was restricted to seventeen deposit money banks out of twenty one Banks quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as at December, 2018. The required data were collected from audited annual financial statements and “sustainability reports” of the selected Deposit Money Banks for the period. A detailed analysis of the three bottom lines of profit (economic), people (social) and planet (environmental) impact was conducted. The descriptive and least squares regression analysis were adopted for the study considering the banks’ sustainability reporting practices against the selected performance proxies. The study concludes that sustainability reporting practices of Banks in Nigeria have substantial impacts on the financial performances of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. The study recommends that enabling legislations should be put in place to mandate enhanced sustainability practices among all deposit money banks in Nigeria as well as facilitate meaningful evaluation and measurement of earnings, social and environmental impacts in all areas of bank operations in Nigeria.