Does transparency and disclosure (T&D) improve the performance of banks in India?

Purpose - The purpose of the study is to explore the association of disclosures for the performance of banks in India. Design/methodology/approach - Panel data analysis (utilising static and dynamic models) is applied on the data of 34 Indian banks (for time-frame 2015–2019) to explore the association of disclosures (as transparency and disclosure index) with the performance of banks (as profitability, risk-taking and technical efficiency (TE)). The regulation, competition and ownership concentration variables are taken as control variables. Findings - None of the banks' performance measures applied in the study is significantly associated with the disclosures. This situation implies that disclosures do not impact the performance of the banks in India. The reason is that disclosures and performance are two different activities that aim at different purposes. Research limitations/implications - This study does not provide output for the association between disclosures and the value of the banks and confines itself to explore the association between disclosures and performance of the banks only. This limitation can be the future scope of the study. Originality/value - There is no other study that solely focuses on exploring the association of disclosures with the performance of the banks. Disclosure has more significant importance in banks because of the inherent nature of opaqueness in banking operations. Therefore, the current study's findings have substantial implications for policymakers, managers and investors of the banks.