Cooperative social and environmental disclosure and financial performance of savings and credit cooperatives in Kenya

This study examines the association between cooperative social and environmental disclosure (CSED) and financial performance of deposit-taking savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) in Kenya. Using data comprising of 1272 observations for 212 deposit-taking SACCOs in Kenya over the period 2008-2013, panel OLS analyses are performed to establish the association between SACCOs' CSED levels and financial performance. The results reveal a relatively low level of CSED by deposit-taking SACCOs in Kenya at 29.3%. As a departure from findings in mainstream studies, the study reveals a negative association between CSED and financial performance. We argue that the negative association could be due to changed regulatory landscape or a signal that Kenyan SACCOs are transitioning to financially (profit) oriented goals. The results are useful to regulators and policy makers in designing an optimal disclosure policy for SACCOs.