Lending and Environmental Disclosure. Do Banks Practice What They Preach?

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• Jaclyn Legge, jaclyn.legge@carleton.ca

Presenter: Dr. Enzo Scannella

Abstract

This study examines whether the level of environmental disclosure in financial reports equates with less brown lending by banks. We use granular credit register data and detailed information on the firm-level intensity of greenhouse gas emissions and find a negative relationship. This relationship is contingent on the tone of the financial report: a negative tone, reflecting greater awareness of environmental risks, leads to less brown lending; a positive tone, indicating lower awareness, leads to more brown lending. These findings highlight the importance of the awareness of environmental risks as critical, urgent, and pressing threats to creating environmentally responsible lenders.JEL: G20; G21; M41; Q56.Keywords: green banking; brown lending; banking; environmental disclosure; environmental risks; climate change.

Authors’ Biography

Enzo Scannella is a MBA, PhD, Professor of Banking and Finance at the Department of Economics, Business, and Statistics, University of Palermo (Italy) where he teaches Corporate Banking, Economics and Management of Financial Institutions, Risk Management. His main research interests are focused on banking, financial regulation, risk management, risk disclosure, and financial innovation. He has held visiting positions in foreign universities, including Harvard Business School (Boston, USA), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Madrid, Spain), Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada), Northeastern University (Boston, USA), Hanoi University (Hanoi, Vietnam). His publications appear in leading nationally and internationally recognized academic journals. He has also contributed to a number of books. He is a member of various scientific associations, university research groups, editorial boards, and scientific committees for conferences. He is a member of the European Association of University Teachers in Banking and Finance (Wolpertinger), the Italian Academy of Management (AIDEA), the Italian Association of University Teachers in Banking and Finance (ADEIMF)