ESG投资如何影响商业银行绩效?——兼论外部压力的调节作用

The Impact of ESG Investments on the Performance of Commercial Banks:A Discussion on the Regulatory Role of External Pressures

ESG投资作为一种绿色发展理念,对于我国绿色金融发展具有重要意义。本文使用2011—2022年我国37家上市银行的非平衡面板数据,实证探讨ESG投资对商业银行绩效的影响及其影响机制,并基于市场竞争、媒体关注度、经济政策不确定性三方面构建外部压力指标,分析商业银行外部压力对ESG投资与商业银行绩效之间的调节效应。研究发现,ESG投资整体上对商业银行绩效起到促进作用;具体来看,社会责任投资对商业银行绩效的促进作用最大,内部治理投资次之,而环境治理投资的促进作用最小。机制分析表明,ESG投资能够通过风险承担渠道影响商业银行绩效。此外,当银行面临较大的外部压力时,会削弱ESG投资对商业银行绩效的促进作用。进一步异质性分析表明,相较于国有性质银行,非国有性质银行更能发挥ESG投资的绩效改善作用。据此,商业银行应加强环境保护、社会责任、内部治理等方面的管理,重视ESG投资对银行绩效的影响;政府则应对银行业采取差异化管理政策,缓解外部压力对商业银行的负向调节作用。

ESG investments,as a concept promoting green development,hold significant importance for the development of green finance in China.This study utilizes unbalanced panel data from 37 listed banks in China spanning from 2011 to 2022 to empirically analyze the influence of ESG investments on the performance of commercial banks,along with the underlying mechanisms.External pressure indicators are constructed based on market competition,media attention,and economic policy uncertainty to investigate the regulatory effects of external pressures on both ESG investments and commercial bank performance.The research findings indicate that,overall,ESG investments play a promotional role in enhancing the performance of commercial banks.Specifically,social responsibility investments have a greater positive impact on commercial bank performance,followed by internal governance investments,while the promotional effect of environmental governance investments is relatively smaller.Mechanism analysis suggests that ESG investments can influence the performance of commercial banks through risk-bearing channels.Additionally,when banks face substantial external pressures,the promotional effect of ESG investments on commercial bank performance is weakened.Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that non-state-owned banks,compared to state-owned banks,are more effective in leveraging the performance improvement potential of ESG investments.Based on these findings,commercial banks are advised to strengthen management in areas such as environmental protection,social responsibility,and internal governance,placing emphasis on the impact of ESG investments on bank performance.Governments should implement differentiated management policies for commercial banks to alleviate the negative regulatory effects of external pressures.