Relationship Between Bank-Specific Characteristics and Web-Based Disclosures of the Commercial Banks in India

Abstract

This article examines the extent of web utilization as a tool for the disclosure of corporate information on the website and exhibits the association between bank-specific attributes such as size, age, profitability, market discipline, listing status, leverage, foreign ownership, and type of sector in relation to the web disclosures of 87 public, private, and foreign sector Indian commercial banks. To achieve the objective, a checklist index of 143 items of information was developed. To examine the hypotheses of the study, a panel regression model was estimated on the data of 87 Indian commercial banks. Panel regression results indicate that size, market discipline (CAR), profitability, listing status, type of ownership, and type of sector have a significant relationship with the level of web disclosure, and banks are more likely to use the websites to disclose information. On the contrary, age, leverage, and market discipline (NPA) have insignificant relationship with the web-based disclosure level, and Indian banks have not shown any relationship with the disclosure score. The study will help the managers to meet the actual and potential informational needs of the investors; for the investor, it will help to assess investment decisions in a better way.