Disclosure Compliance with Different ESG Reporting Guidelines: The Sustainability Ranking of Selected European and Hungarian Banks in the Socio-Economic Crisis Period

Dávid Tőzsér, Zoltán Lakner, Novy Anggraini Sudibyo () and Anita Boros
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Dávid Tőzsér: Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem Sq. 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Zoltán Lakner: Department of Agricultural Business and Economics, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), Páter Károly Str. 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Novy Anggraini Sudibyo: Doctoral School of Economic and Regional Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), Páter Károly Str. 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Anita Boros: Lajos Lőrincz Department of Administrative Law, Ludovika University of Public Service (NKE), Ludovika Sq. 2, H-1083 Budapest, Hungary

Administrative Sciences, 2024, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: As the relevant European Union directives require in-depth sustainability reporting from large institutions, banks are among the concerned with disclosure obligations. Several institutions prepare self-structured recommendations by which companies are indirectly fostered to make their operation more sustainable through reporting and to help compliance with the upcoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) regulations. However, in the preparation period, differences can be found in the actual sustainability disclosure practices across Europe (primarily by a western–eastern European relation). To examine this issue, this study aimed to investigate if there was any variation in the reporting compliance with aspects (key performance indicators—KPIs) of three reporting guidelines (Global Reporting Initiative—G4, Financial Services Sector Disclosures—GRI; Alliance for Corporate Transparency—ACT; ISO 26000:2010—ISO) between top European and Hungarian banks according to their 2021 sustainability/ESG reports, using content analysis-based disclosure scoring. The results revealed no significant differences among the general (aspect-pooled) scores for different guidelines, while the differences were significant for each guideline between the two bank groups. In the aspect-level evaluation, the European banks had higher scores in most cases, with the Hungarian banks receiving higher scores in 4 of 49 GRI, 1 of 16 ACT, and 2 of 37 ISO aspects. Significant correlations were indicated in disclosure score values between the two bank groups, which suggested similar preferences for the aspects demonstrated; however, elaboration levels differed. These findings showed that the European and Hungarian banks could be differentiated by their sustainability disclosure patterns. The results suggest a better CSRD-level preparedness of the top European banks than of the Hungarian ones, with the latter being introduced as a model group of the region. This reflects the need for more efficient adoption of best practices by financial institutions in the eastern parts of Europe.

Keywords: GRI; Alliance for Corporate Transparency; ISO; content analysis; CSRD; financial institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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