Choi, Park, and Xu (2023)

Choi, Seungho, Raphael Jonghyeon Park, and Simon Xu. “The Strategic Use of Corporate Philanthropy: Evidence from Bank Donations.” Review of Finance, September 2023.

From the authors' abstract:  "This article examines the strategic nature of banks’ charitable giving by studying bank donations to local nonprofit organizations. Relying on the application of antitrust rules in bank mergers as an exogenous shock to local deposit market competition, we find that local competition affects banks’ local donation decisions… [B]anks can potentially earn greater profits from making donations and tend to donate to nonprofits that have the most social impact. Overall, our evidence suggests that banks participate in corporate philanthropy strategically to enhance performance.”

Link:  https://academic.oup.com/rof/article/27/5/1883/7033473