Corporate Social Responsibility Practices of UAE Banks

The study aims at investigating corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of UAE banks. A modified questionnaire has been developed. The questionnaire is divided into two parts. The first part covers general information, namely the experience, position and educational level of the respondent. The second part consists of 18 questions about awareness of CSR, CSR dimensions, the most important issues of CSR, CSR instruments, stakeholders' engagement and co-operation, the community activities carried out by UAE banks, voluntary activities to mitigate climate change, CSR practices, organizational responsibility for CSR, CSR payback, public policy support for corporate social responsibility and the relationship with the stakeholders. The main results indicate that the UAE banks are aware of the concept of corporate social responsibility; they place more emphasis on compliance with mandatory social and environmental legislation and less on the non-mandatory legislation; the social specific issues are the most important ones; the banks collect information about/from stakeholders and consult stakeholders and participate in multi-stakeholder initiatives; the banks contribute positively in supporting community activities, for instance through donations and sponsorship; the banks are not heavily involved in problems of climate change; the banks ensure equal access to their banking services for all women, irrespective of their marital status, race, etc.; the banks meet the mandatory legislation requirements related to CSR; and finally, the majority of the respondents (90 percent) indicated that it is important for their banks to inform stakeholders about their corporate social responsibility activity