The impact of climate change response disclosure on commercial bank performance in Vietnam

In the context of climate change increasingly exerting severe impacts on global socio-economic systems, Vietnam has set ambitious sustainable development goals, in which the banking sector plays a pivotal role in channeling green capital flows and enhancing resilience to climate-related risks. As climate change intensifies, climate-change response activities—together with transparent disclosure of such efforts—have become urgent requirements at both the micro level (for enterprises and financial institutions) and the macro level (for national governance). This study evaluates the impact of climate-change response disclosure on the performance of Vietnamese commercial banks during the period 2014–2024. By integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches, the authors employ panel data regression models (Pooled OLS, FEM, REM, and FGLS) to examine the relationship between the level of climate-related disclosure and banks’ return on assets (ROA). The empirical findings indicate that climate-change response disclosure has a positive and statistically significant effect on bank performance, thereby confirming the role of transparency in strengthening environmental risk management and improving financial efficiency. Based on these results, the study proposes several recommendations aimed at improving the climate-related disclosure framework and promoting sustainable finance within Vietnam’s banking system.