COVID-19 implications for corporate social responsibility, corporate governance and profitability in banks: The case of Egypt

Abstract

This paper aims to measure the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Governance (CG), and profitability in listed Egyptian banks. COVID-19 is expected to affect this relationship if the year 2020 is taken. Profitability is measured by earnings per share (EPS), return on equity (ROE), and return on as- sets (ROA). CSR is measured as a dummy variable and CG is measured by the chief executive officer (CEO) duality. There are three control variables, such as the Islamic variable, which classifies a bank into Islamic or conventional, bank age, and bank size. The paper uses multiple regression and logistic regression models. The final sample is 12 banks consisting of 9 conventional banks and 3 Islamic banks (IBS). The results show no impact of profitability on CSR. The results prove a significant positive impact of profitability on CG; there is a significant negative relationship between CEO duality and EPS at a 0.05 level. CSR has a significant impact on CG at a 0.001 level. The results show a clear impact of COVID-19 on the impact of CSR on profitability only when measured by ROA at 0.001 in the period 2014–2019.