THE IMPACT OF ESG DISCLOSURE ON BANK PROFITABILITY AND MARKET VALUE IN EMERGING ECONOMIES: THE CASE OF UZBEKISTAN

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure on bank profitability and market value in Uzbekistan an underexplored emerging economy in Central Asia undergoing rapid financial and sustainability reforms. Using a panel dataset of 22 commercial banks from 2015 to 2024, we construct a hand-collected ESG disclosure index through systematic content analysis of annual and sustainability reports, supplemented by financial data from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan. Net profit margin serves as the primary measure of profitability, while Tobin’s Q and market capitalization proxy for market value. Employing fixed effects, random effects, and System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimators to address endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity, we find that higher ESG disclosure is significantly associated with improved bank profitability. Notably, this relationship is driven almost exclusively by the governance (G) pillar, while environmental (E) and social (S) disclosures show no statistically significant effects highlighting the context-specific materiality of ESG dimensions in transitional economies. Robustness checks, including lagged specifications, sub-sample analyses by ownership type, and alternative ESG measures, confirm the reliability of our findings. The results suggest that in Uzbekistan’s institutional environment characterized by ongoing corporate governance reforms and nascent green finance infrastructure transparency in board oversight, risk management, and anti-corruption mechanisms enhances operational efficiency and stakeholder trust, thereby boosting net margins. Our study contributes to the limited literature on ESG-finance linkages in Central Asia and challenges universalist assumptions about ESG materiality by demonstrating that governance remains the most financially relevant pillar in early-stage reform contexts. The findings carry important implications for regulators, bank managers, and international investors: prioritizing credible governance disclosure offers a strategic pathway to both financial performance and market legitimacy. As Uzbekistan advances its National Strategy for Green Economy Development, this research provides empirical grounding for sequenced, institutionally attuned ESG integration in the banking sector.