Web-based Disclosures and Their Determinants: Evidence from Listed Commercial Banks in Nepal

Abstract

What is the extent of disclosure, using the Internet, by commercial banks listed on Nepal Stock Exchange? What are the determinants of varying levels of web-based disclosure by those companies? These were the research questions addressed in this paper. All 23 commercial banking companies were found to have maintained their own websites and annual reports were made available in compliance with directive number 4 of Nepal Rastra Bank. A 50 items disclosure index, based on existing literature modified for Nepal specific items, was applied to company websites to assess the disclosure levels. At an average, 49.58 % of items in the index were disclosed by the commercial banks in Nepal. With regards to determinants, foreign ownership, board independence, and bank size were found to be significantly associated with web-based disclosure. The model with six independent variables considered for analysis explained 51% of the variations in web-based disclosure by commercial banks in Nepal. The study makes significant contributions to understand the extent of disclosures made by commercial banks and their determinants in a developing country like Nepal.