Financial institutions are entities of public interest for which reputation and good image are important considerations. Therefore, reporting of socially responsible actions appears a natural consequence of their public initiatives. As any legal regulations that would make CSR reporting obligatory are absent, not all financial institutions draft such reports, although they are perceived as major sources of information to be used in decision-making processes. This paper aims to analyse benefits of CSR reporting in light of specialist literature and surveys and to evaluate trends of CSR reporting by financial institutions, with particular reference to standards in place. Both the literature review and empirical research have helped to verify the following hypotheses: - (H1) - communication with stakeholders is the prime reason for compiling CSR reports - this is corroborated by both the review of specialist literature and an empirical survey conducted in 2013 by Ernst&Young and Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship among members of the Center for Corporate Citizenship and Survey Sampling International (SSI). - (H2) - financial institutions as entities of public interest account for a substantial share of reporting organisations - financial institutions drafting CSR reports submitted to GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) in 2005-2014 have been analysed in this perspective. Numbers and structures of the reports are evaluated with regard to global regions and sizes of financial institutions. To assess importance of a financial institution among reporting entities, numbers of financial institutions compiling CSR reports are analysed in reference to all reporting organisations. Details concerning CSR reports are divided into those drafted in conformity with GRI guidelines and those following other rules and guidelines - this part of the study was designed to examine the extent of standardisation of CSR reports.(original abstract)
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