The Banking System is very important
for any nation because it is the pivot of socio-economic development of any
economy.  They have active developmental
roles to play in the economy such as mobilizing fund from the surplus to the
deficit spending units. The design of the Nigerian Banking System is geared towards
greater impact on the Nigerian economy.

In the current era companies are not
only responsible to their shareholders alone, they said to be standing on the
triple bottom lines of corporate responsibility which include social,
environmental, and financial (Tjia and Setiawati, 2012). Accountability of the
business organizations is therefore extended not only to direct stakeholders
concern but also to different external parties through the implementation of
different socially desirable activities (Masud and Hossain, 2012). These social
activities are no longer considered as a financial burden, but rather as social
capital investment (Tjia and Setiawati, 2012). They are also called ethical
investment simply because they increase the positive impacts of an organization
(Abbasi et al. 2012).

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
is the encompassing term for the undertaking of these social activities.
According to Ahmed et al. (2012) “CSR is generally understood to be the way a
company attains a balance or integration of economic, environmental, and social
imperatives while at the same time addressing shareholder and stakeholder
expectations, with the understanding that businesses play a key role on job and
wealth creation in society”. Uddin et al. 
(2008) state that CSR “is the continuing commitment by business to
behave according to business ethics and contribute to economic development
while improving the quality of the life of the workforce and their families as
well as the local community and society at large”.

In relation to the banking sector, CSR
is said to be the obligation of banks to manage their social, economic and
environmental activities at local and global level (Abbasi et al. 2012).   This involves the bank considering not only
their profitability and growth, but also the interests of society and the
environment by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on
stakeholders, employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers and civil society
represented by NGOs (Noyer 2008 in Masud and Hossain, 2012). Although banks are
not directly involved in degradation of natural environment they are
facilitators as they are suppliers of funds that support production process
that ultimately causes environmental degradation (Sarokin and Schulkin, 1991in
Ahmed et al. 2012). Thus, according to Branco and Rodrigues (2006), the
activities of banks, such as their lending and investment policies, can be
considered as equally environmentally-sensitive when compared with the direct
impacts of polluting industries that are dependent on the banks.

Therefore Branco and Rodrigues (2006)
reasoned that banks can report on what they are doing to ensure that their
lending and investment policies do not facilitate industrial activities, which
are harmful for the environment. On a more direct way, Branco and Rodrigues
(2006) argue that financial institutions consume vast amounts of resources,
such as paper and energy, and create wastes; hence their policies regarding how
they contribute to the conservation of energy and natural resources and
recycling activities are important aspects of their social responsibility
activities. Therefore to ensure accountability, banks are to be disclosing
social related information.

Social responsibility disclosure refers
to the disclosure of information about companies’ interactions with society
(Branco and Rodrigues, 2006). Due to informational asymmetry, disclosure of
private information is imperative as it brings general gains in economic
efficiency (Hossain and Reaz, 2007), and it is an important instrument in the
dialog between business and society (Branco and Rodrigues, 2006).  Generally transparency is an important aspect
of good corporate governance practice and in relation to the banking sector
increased transparency through the disclosure of timely and accurate information
ideally should enable a bank to access capital markets more efficiently
(Hossain and Reaz, 2007). These CSR disclosures can be classified into
environment, human resources, products and customers and community involvement
(Branco and Rodrigues, 2006).

In recent decades, as societies in
Nigeria have become more prosperous, better educated and more articulated,
increasing attention has focused on the social responsibility of business
firms, because business firms are allowed to flourish within society and to
make use of various natural and human resources available as well as public
services.

The primary goal of a company is
profit. To make more profit, companies make good products, invest money to
retain competent employees and develop new technology and retain customers.
These efforts have not only benefitted businesses economically, but have also
contributed to the development of modern society. This social contribution
concept of passive social responsibility has governed the mind of business
owners until recently.

1.2
   STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM