Environmental disclosure and environmental risk: Sceptical attitudes of UK sell-side bank analysts

In responding to the mixed evidence on the decision-usefulness of environmental disclosures to capital market participants, this paper examines the decision-usefulness, to sell-side bank analysts, of annual report environmental narratives. In doing so it focuses mainly on the materiality of environmental reporting and the perceived importance of environmental risks in the assessment of bank risk profile and valuation. Noting that banks themselves have recognised the importance of environmental filtration of loan decisions, this paper seeks to examine the attitudes of a prominent reporting user group (19 London-based sell-side bank analysts) towards environmental reporting and the materiality of environmental risks. Findings showed that recognition of the materiality of environmental risks in banks is uncommon among sell-side analysts and that environmental narratives are often ignored and regarded as perfunctory. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of analysts in the reporting information ‘supply chain’ and how the analysts’ frame of reference may limit the inclusion of longer-term issues, such as the environment, in their analysis.