THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY EXPENDITURE ON FIRM PERFORMANCE AND FIRM VALUE OF NIGERIAN BANKS

Corporate social responsibility has attained a high level of discourse among practitioners and scholars around the world and more recently in a new dimension in Nigeria. However, CSR remains an equivocal construct with divergent views on its relationship with firm performance and firm value. This study therefore examines the relations between CSR expenditure on firm performance and firm values. Data were sourced from the annual reports of quoted firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange using exploratory research design. The Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and OLS method of regression analysis were used to estimate the relationship in the variables of study. Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) were used to proxy firm performance while Earnings per Share (EPS) and Dividend per Share (DPS) were used to proxy firm value. The study reveals that CSR has impact on ROA, ROE, DPS and EPS at varying degrees. The study therefore concludes that there is positive relationship between CSR and firm performance and firm value. It is recommended that the banks should make substantial investment into the environment where if operates for improved performance.