Corporate Governance, Risk Management and Ethical Investment: Evidence From Banking Industries

Abstract

Considering the importance of good corporate governance in the banking industry, the study has been designed to investigate the managerial perceptions on interrelationship among good corporate governance, risk management, and ethical investment of the commercial banks of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been selected as a field of study for three reasons. Firstly, banking is the leading sector in Bangladesh. Secondly, banking sector has been highly criticized in the recent times due to Bangladesh Bank scandal. Thirdly, banking is gradually being challenging services in Bangladesh. As a financial intermediary, bank has to ensure good corporate governance for smooth operations and reducing agency problem. As a trustee, bank deals with the money of others through various schemes of investment. Ethical investment known as social responsible investment is an indicator of good corporate governance. A structured questionnaire has been used to gather perceptions of managers of the sample banks. The results suggest that the most important factors for effective CG were the board of directors, auditors and managers of the various departments. The study also finds that risk taking behavior of the bank is influenced by the direction of board of directors. In this study corporate governance variables have been categorized with some sub-indices. Board’s structure with independent directors and well communication with supervisors ensure the efficient risk management practices in the banks where internal audit system and transparent disclosures of the board ensure the ethical investment practices.