The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

This study seeks to investigate the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and financial performance of deposit money banks (DMBs) in Nigeria spanning between 2015 and 2024. It seeks to examine the effect of CSR on the economic value creation of these banks in Nigeria, determine the effects of CSR investment on the profitability and shareholders value of deposit money banks, and examine the moderating effects of regulatory and economic conditions on the relationship between CSR and financial performance in Nigeria banking industry to understand further the impact of CSR on the financial performance of DMBs in Nigeria. Information was sourced from the yearly financial statements of a selection of Nigerian DMBs and evaluated through statistical methods that are descriptive, correlation assessments, also multivariate regression models. Performance of the finance was gauged utilizing established indicators (Return on Equity, Return on Assets, and Earnings per Share and a market-oriented indicator (Tobin's Q). CSR disclosure was estimated using a 30-item disclosure index extending over community involvement, environmental responsibility, employee welfare, and customer/product responsibility, while bank size, firm years, and leverage were taken up as control variables. The results show that Nigerian banks exhibit exceptionally high levels of CSR disclosure (average index ≈ 0.99). However, CSR disclosure shows no substantial association with EPS, ROA, Tobin's Q, or ROE. Instead, financial performance is strongly influenced by bank size (positive and significant) and leverage (negative and significant), while firm age demonstrates a weak relationship with performance but a positive association with CSR disclosure. These findings suggest that CSR in Nigerian banks functions primarily as a legitimacy and reputational mechanism rather than as a profitability driver. This research indicates that, within the studied timeframe, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting has no significant positive effect on the economic performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria.