Gender diversity in bank boardrooms and green lending: Evidence from euro area credit register data

Leonardo Gambacorta, Livia Pancotto, Alessio Reghezza () and Martina Spaggiari

No 17650, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We study whether female directors in banks’ boardrooms influence lending decisions toward less polluting firms. By using granular credit register data matched with information on firm-level greenhouse gas emission intensities, we isolate credit supply shifts and find that banks with more gender-diverse boards provide less credit to browner companies. This evidence is robust when we consider different types of emissions and control for endogeneity concerns. We also show that better-educated female directors grant lower credit volumes to more polluting firms. The “greening†effect of a greater female representation in banks’ boardrooms is stronger in countries with more female climate-oriented politicians.

Keywords: Gender; Board diversity; Credit registry; Bank lending (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G01 G21 G30 Q50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-11
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Working Paper: Gender diversity in bank boardrooms and green lending: evidence from euro area credit register data (2022)
Working Paper: Gender diversity in bank boardrooms and green lending: evidence from euro area credit register data (2022)
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