Bank deregulation, environmental regulation and pollution reduction: evidence from Chinese firms

Figures & data

Figure 1. The average number and growth rate of city-level bank branches.

Data Source: China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBRC) website.

Source: this study.

Figure 2. The regional distribution of the proportion of the ‘Big Four’ banks’ branches account for local banking branches in 1986, 2001, 2009 and 2019.

Data Source: China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBRC) website.

Source: this study.

Table 1. Variable definitions.

Variable category	Variable name	Definition
Pollution emissions	COD emissions	Ln (1 + COD emission per unit output value)
	SO2 emissions	Ln (1 + SO2 emission per unit output value)
Bank competition	${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	1- Herfindahl–Hirschman index
	${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$	1- the concentration ratio for the largest three banks
	${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$	1- the concentration ratio for the ‘Big Four’ banks
Firm specific variables	Size	Firm size, computed as the natural logarithm value of total assets
	Sizesq	The square of firm size
	Age	Firm age, calculated as the logarithm of the number cof years since a firm operated plus one
	Leverage	Total debt divided by total assets
	Fixed Asset	Fixed Asset is defined as fixed assets divided by total assets
	ROA	Firm profitability, measured by return on assets
	SOE	Firm ownership dummy, that equals to 1 if the firm is actual controlled by the state, and 0 otherwise
	Export	Dummy variable that equals to 1 if the firm product exported, and 0 otherwise
Mechanism variables	SAindex	Financing constraints, calculated as the absolute value of –0.737*firm size + 0.043*firm size^2 –0.040*firm age
	Availability	Dummy variable equal to one if a firm’s change in long-term debt is greater than zero and zero otherwise
	Amount	The amount of bank credit received by firms, computed as the natural logarithm of the change in long-term debt plus one
	Cost	The total cost that is associated with per unit of bank credit, defined as financial expense over total debt
Threshold variable	ER	Performance-based environmental regulation at the province level

Source: This study.

Table 2. Summary statistics.

Variables	N	Mean	SD	Min	p25	p50	p75	Max
COD emissions	530,196	0.251	0.564	0.000	0.000	0.024	0.185	3.237
SO2 emissions	530,196	0.514	0.780	0.000	0.000	0.142	0.702	3.563
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	530,196	0.847	0.075	0.622	0.799	0.860	0.904	0.966
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$	530,196	0.443	0.159	0.094	0.320	0.453	0.569	0.745
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$	530,196	0.486	0.195	0.000	0.348	0.517	0.646	0.921
Size	530,196	10.898	1.585	7.782	9.737	10.749	11.911	15.302
Sizesq	530,196	121.282	35.832	60.566	94.818	115.535	141.867	234.143
Age	530,196	2.365	0.870	0.000	1.792	2.303	2.944	4.094
Leverage	530,196	0.616	0.290	0.026	0.418	0.619	0.803	1.567
Fixed asset	530,196	0.398	0.213	0.017	0.232	0.378	0.548	0.909
ROA	530,196	0.053	0.137	–0.230	0.000	0.018	0.072	0.739
SOE	530,196	0.142	0.349	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	1.000
Export	530,196	0.329	0.470	0.000	0.000	0.000	1.000	1.000
SAindex	530,121	3.391	0.627	1.721	3.068	3.306	3.641	5.143
Availability	330,634	0.257	0.437	0	0	0	1	1
Amount	231,545	2.609	3.851	0	0	0	5.802	12.258
Cost	512,234	0.039	0.062	0	0.008	0.024	0.045	0.450
ER	381,691	6.780	4.408	1.242	3.285	5.258	9.180	22.688

Source: This study.

Table 3. Estimation results of the basic regression model to test the impact of bank competition on firms’ pollution reduction.

	COD emissions						SO2 emissions
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)	(12)
	RE	FE	RE	FE	RE	FE	RE	FE	RE	FE	RE	FE
Size	–0.063***	–0.063***	–0.063***	–0.063***	–0.063***	–0.063***	–0.186***	–0.145***	–0.186***	–0.146***	–0.186***	–0.146***
	(–7.456)	(–5.357)	(–7.477)	(–5.383)	(–7.484)	(–5.384)	(–17.348)	(–9.802)	(–17.374)	(–9.842)	(–17.371)	(–9.821)
Sizesq	0.002***	0.002***	0.002***	0.002***	0.002***	0.002***	0.007***	0.005***	0.007***	0.005***	0.007***	0.005***
	(6.187)	(3.465)	(6.203)	(3.477)	(6.209)	(3.477)	(14.485)	(7.960)	(14.503)	(7.980)	(14.501)	(7.968)
Age	0.008***	0.005***	0.008***	0.005***	0.008***	0.005***	0.029***	0.010***	0.029***	0.010***	0.029***	0.010***
	(5.623)	(2.614)	(5.637)	(2.608)	(5.637)	(2.612)	(16.081)	(4.689)	(16.049)	(4.634)	(16.091)	(4.681)
Leverage	0.028***	–0.001	0.028***	–0.001	0.028***	–0.002	0.053***	–0.002	0.053***	–0.002	0.053***	–0.003
	(6.990)	(–0.328)	(6.991)	(–0.329)	(6.975)	(–0.356)	(10.164)	(–0.398)	(10.157)	(–0.422)	(10.142)	(–0.433)
Fixed asset	0.058***	–0.003	0.058***	–0.003	0.058***	–0.003	0.091***	–0.023***	0.091***	–0.023***	0.091***	–0.023***
	(11.148)	(–0.477)	(11.154)	(–0.473)	(11.160)	(–0.463)	(13.465)	(–2.989)	(13.478)	(–2.978)	(13.477)	(–2.979)
ROA	–0.157***	–0.122***	–0.157***	–0.122***	–0.157***	–0.122***	–0.281***	–0.183***	–0.282***	–0.183***	–0.281***	–0.183***
	(–23.137)	(–15.377)	(–23.192)	(–15.417)	(–23.162)	(–15.405)	(–34.098)	(–19.390)	(–34.167)	(–19.439)	(–34.126)	(–19.419)
SOE	0.032***	0.005	0.032***	0.005	0.032***	0.005	0.039***	0.010**	0.040***	0.010**	0.039***	0.010**
	(8.835)	(1.385)	(8.871)	(1.412)	(8.855)	(1.405)	(9.138)	(2.319)	(9.186)	(2.378)	(9.165)	(2.348)
Export	–0.015***	–0.007**	–0.015***	–0.007**	–0.015***	–0.006**	–0.054***	–0.021***	–0.054***	–0.021***	–0.054***	–0.021***
	(–7.026)	(–2.497)	(–7.032)	(–2.492)	(–7.006)	(–2.470)	(–21.755)	(–7.162)	(–21.770)	(–7.159)	(–21.713)	(–7.114)
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	–0.082***	–0.082***					–0.122***	–0.125***
	(–3.282)	(–3.702)					(–4.013)	(–4.593)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$			–0.021*	–0.018*					–0.024*	–0.028**
			(–1.849)	(–1.794)					(–1.685)	(–2.215)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$					–0.017	–0.016*					–0.042***	–0.044***
					(–1.622)	(–1.680)					(–3.398)	(–3.912)
Year FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Industry FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
_cons	0.944***	0.803***	0.885***	0.745***	0.885***	0.744***	1.758***	1.601***	1.667***	1.513***	1.679***	1.518***
	(10.061)	(11.614)	(9.650)	(11.095)	(9.650)	(11.092)	(16.106)	(18.457)	(15.681)	(17.989)	(15.779)	(18.053)
N	344,854	305,429	344,819	305,394	344,854	305,429	344,822	305,395	344,787	305,360	344,822	305,395
Adjusted R^2	0.303	0.722	0.303	0.722	0.303	0.722	0.463	0.776	0.463	0.776	0.463	0.776

Note: ***, ** and * indicate significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels, respectively. All the independent variables are the one–year lagged values. Robust standard errors are clustered at the firm level, and the robust t–statistics are reported in round brackets across all these model specifications.

Source: This study.

Table 4. Estimation results of instrumental variable (IV) regressions.

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)
	${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	COD emissions	SO2 emissions	${\mathrm{Bank}}_{{\mathrm{CR}}_3}$	COD emissions	SO2 emissions	${\mathrm{Bank}}_{{\mathrm{CR}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}}$	COD emissions	SO2 emissions
Size	0.007***	–0.045***	–0.118***	0.009***	–0.046***	–0.119***	0.000	–0.048***	–0.123***
	(5.552)	(–3.683)	(–7.564)	(3.646)	(–3.740)	(–7.614)	(0.133)	(–3.935)	(–7.907)
Sizesq	–0.0001**	0.0004	0.003***	–0.00004	0.0004	0.003***	0.0005***	0.001	0.003***
	(–2.371)	(0.714)	(4.504)	(–0.375)	(0.781)	(4.363)	(3.211)	(1.113)	(4.869)
Age	0.002***	–0.005**	–0.006**	0.004***	–0.004**	–0.007***	0.005***	–0.003	–0.004
	(10.327)	(–2.503)	(–2.522)	(12.389)	(–2.261)	(–2.930)	(12.330)	(–1.434)	(–1.568)
Leverage	–0.000	0.001	0.008	–0.001	0.001	0.008	–0.003***	0.000	0.006
	(–0.552)	(0.306)	(1.277)	(–1.025)	(0.289)	(1.265)	(–2.879)	(0.054)	(0.935)
Fixed asset	–0.002***	0.018***	0.014*	–0.006***	0.017***	0.015*	–0.002	0.020***	0.022***
	(–4.147)	(2.881)	(1.792)	(–5.382)	(2.696)	(1.866)	(–1.284)	(3.314)	(2.748)
ROA	0.005***	–0.139***	–0.206***	0.013***	–0.141***	–0.213***	0.020***	–0.133***	–0.198***
	(6.887)	(–16.623)	(–20.486)	(7.949)	(–16.823)	(–21.198)	(10.403)	(–15.840)	(–19.703)
SOE	–0.004***	0.021***	0.044***	–0.009***	0.022***	0.049***	–0.010***	0.023***	0.051***
	(–10.689)	(5.581)	(9.387)	(–12.798)	(5.787)	(10.371)	(–12.439)	(6.073)	(10.769)
Export	0.001***	–0.013***	–0.024***	0.002***	–0.013***	–0.025***	0.003***	–0.009***	–0.018***
	(3.115)	(–4.509)	(–7.775)	(3.615)	(–4.518)	(–7.818)	(4.720)	(–3.326)	(–5.766)
IV	0.782***			0.827***			0.823***
	(262.564)			(278.359)			(269.879)
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$		–0.860***	–1.787***
		(–28.863)	(–44.706)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$					–0.393***	–0.760***
					(–29.990)	(–43.855)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$								–0.360***	–0.699***
								(–28.947)	(–43.868)
Firm FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
N	318,764	279,997	279,982	318,724	279,962	279,947	318,764	279,997	279,982

Note: The figures in round brackets indicate the robust t-statistics.

***, ** and * indicate significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels, respectively. All the independent variables are the one-year lagged values.

Source: This study.

Table 5. Estimation results of mechanisms test of financial constraints channel.

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
	COD emissions	COD emissions	COD emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions
SAindex	0.018***	0.019***	0.019***	0.005	0.005	0.004
	(3.30)	(3.35)	(3.38)	(0.73)	(0.77)	(0.56)
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	–0.079***			–0.117***
	(–3.59)			(–4.32)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$		–0.017*			–0.025**
		(–1.70)			(–2.02)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$			–0.015			–0.042***
			(–1.57)			(–3.75)
SAindex×${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	–0.038			–0.175***
	(–1.44)			(–5.26)
SAindex×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$		–0.020*			–0.082***
		(–1.65)			(–5.37)
SAindex×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$			–0.020**			–0.046***
			(–2.01)			(–3.57)
Control variables	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Year FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Industry FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
_cons	0.778***	0.780***	0.777***	1.463***	1.466***	1.474***
	(11.17)	(11.18)	(11.16)	(16.79)	(16.81)	(16.91)
N	305,387	305,352	305,387	305,353	305,318	305,353
Adjusted R^2	0.722	0.722	0.722	0.776	0.776	0.776

Note: The figures in round brackets indicate the robust t-statistics.

***, ** and * indicate significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels, respectively. All the independent variables are the one-year lagged values.$\mathrm{}{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}},$ ${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3,$ ${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$ and SAindex are mean centered for the construction of the interaction terms. To save space, we do not report the coefficient estimates of all control variables.

Source: This study.

Table 6. Estimation results of mechanisms test of specific ways.

Panel A: COD emissions as the dependent variable.
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)
	COD emissions	COD emissions	COD emissions	COD emissions	COD emissions	COD emissions	COD emissions	COD emissions	COD emissions
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	–0.070***			–0.087***			–0.072***
	(–3.05)			(–3.16)			(–2.97)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$		–0.012			–0.021*			–0.014
		(–1.09)			(–1.65)			(–1.25)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$			–0.011			–0.010			–0.010
			(–1.15)			(–0.87)			(–0.98)
Availability	–0.004**	–0.004**	–0.005***
	(–2.28)	(–2.36)	(–2.82)
Availability×${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	–0.039*
	(–1.78)
Availability×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$		–0.021**
		(–1.99)
Availability×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$			–0.032***
			(–3.79)
Amount				–0.0003	–0.0003	–0.0004
				(–0.81)	(–0.88)	(–1.27)
Amount×${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$				–0.014***
				(–3.32)
Amount×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$					–0.007***
					(–3.97)
Amount×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$						–0.010***
						(–6.23)
Cost							–0.133***	–0.133***	–0.131***
							(–6.94)	(–6.94)	(–6.88)
Cost×${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$							–0.306
							(–1.30)
Cost×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$								–0.125
								(–1.11)
Cost×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$									–0.186*
									(–1.94)
Control variables	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Year FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Industry FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
_cons	0.651***	0.655***	0.658***	0.631***	0.640***	0.659***	0.715***	0.717***	0.715***
	(9.55)	(9.61)	(9.65)	(7.51)	(7.62)	(7.86)	(9.52)	(9.55)	(9.52)
N	299,065	299,030	299,065	198,074	198,051	198,074	263,478	263,446	263,478
Adjusted R^2	0.727	0.727	0.727	0.728	0.728	0.728	0.727	0.727	0.727
Panel B: SO2 emissions as the dependent variable.
	(10)	(11)	(12)	(13)	(14)	(15)	(16)	(17)	(18)
	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions	SO2 emissions
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	–0.120***			–0.147***			–0.099***
	(–4.22)			(–4.32)			(–3.27)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$		–0.026**			–0.041***			–0.014
		(–2.02)			(–2.63)			(–1.01)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$			–0.037***			–0.044***			–0.042***
			(–3.15)			(–3.20)			(–3.34)
Availability	–0.007***	–0.007***	–0.007***
	(–3.22)	(–3.23)	(–3.47)
Availability×${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	–0.063**
	(–2.29)
Availability×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$		–0.029**
		(–2.28)
Availability×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$			–0.032***
			(–3.01)
Amount				–0.001	–0.001	–0.001
				(–1.38)	(–1.37)	(–1.63)
Amount×${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$				–0.019***
				(–3.79)
Amount×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$					–0.009***
					(–3.98)
Amount×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$						–0.009***
						(–4.61)
Cost							–0.170***	–0.170***	–0.172***
							(–7.52)	(–7.52)	(–7.62)
Cost×${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$							0.777**
							(2.48)
Cost×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$								0.417***
								(2.87)
Cost×${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$									0.294***
									(2.62)
Control variables	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Year FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Industry FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
_cons	1.485***	1.492***	1.491***	1.520***	1.527***	1.533***	1.477***	1.481***	1.478***
	(17.15)	(17.22)	(17.21)	(14.44)	(14.50)	(14.57)	(15.63)	(15.68)	(15.65)
N	299,031	298,996	299,031	198,059	198,036	198,059	263,467	263,435	263,467
Adjusted R^2	0.778	0.778	0.778	0.772	0.772	0.772	0.772	0.772	0.772

Note: The figures in round brackets indicate the robust t-statistics.

***, ** and * indicate significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels, respectively. All the independent variables are the one–year lagged values. Both variables of the interaction terms have been mean–centered in this Table. To save space, we do not report the coefficient estimates of all control variables.

Source: This study.

Table 7. The threshold value of environmental regulation.

Independent variables	Threshold value	F statistics	p–value	BS	Critical values
					1%	5%	10%
Panel A: COD emissions as the dependent variable
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	5.3022***	58.46	.0000	500	44.6609	32.6269	27.4769
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$	9.3220**	35.85	.0340	500	40.8535	32.7008	28.0417
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$	5.3022***	45.45	.0080	500	45.2382	32.1910	28.1827
Panel B: SO2 emissions as the dependent variable
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	5.6150***	108.96	.0000	500	58.6149	43.0622	37.9528
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$	5.6150***	100.11	.0000	500	56.9768	47.0685	39.9428
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$	5.6150***	92.24	.0000	500	61.4173	46.3551	37.5064

Note: ***, ** and * indicate significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels, respectively. The probability is evaluated based on 500 replications of regression.

Source: This study.

Table 8. Regression results of panel threshold models.

	COD emissions				SO2 emissions
	(1)	(2)	(3)		(4)	(5)	(6)
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}·I(\mathrm{ER}\le C)$	–0.424***				–0.725***
	(–5.673)				(–7.908)
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}·I(\mathrm{ER}>C)$	–0.500***				–0.838***
	(–6.711)				(–9.209)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3·I(\mathrm{ER}\le C)$		–0.258***				–0.269***
		(–7.347)				(–6.033)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3·I(\mathrm{ER}>C)$		–0.129***				–0.458***
		(–3.277)				(–9.967)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}·I(\mathrm{ER}\le C)$			–0.132***				–0.254***
			(–4.056)				(–6.563)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}·I(\mathrm{ER}>C)$			–0.237***				–0.415***
			(–7.130)				(–10.093)
Control variables	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
_cons	1.631***	1.392***	1.360***		2.422***	1.918***	1.947***
	(3.958)	(3.357)	(3.281)		(4.902)	(3.908)	(3.963)
N	22,752	22,734	22,752		22,752	22,734	22,752
Adjusted R^2	0.030	0.028	0.029		0.045	0.045	0.046

Note: The figures in round brackets indicate the robust t-statistics.

***, ** and * indicate significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels, respectively. All the independent variables are the one-year lagged values. To save space, we do not report the coefficient estimates of all control variables.

Source: This study.

Table 9. Regression analyses of different industries and years.

	All sample				Before 2007				After 2007
	COD emissions		SO2 emissions		COD emissions		SO2 emissions		COD emissions		SO2 emissions
	NPI	PI	NPI	PI	NPI	PI	NPI	PI	NPI	PI	NPI	PI
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)	(10)	(11)	(12)
${\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{HHI}}$	–0.183***	–0.003	–0.151***	–0.059	0.056	–0.172***	–0.077	–0.316***	–0.329***	–0.001	–0.249***	–0.113*
	(–5.843)	(–0.100)	(–5.122)	(–1.462)	(0.990)	(–2.674)	(–1.311)	(–3.597)	(–4.949)	(–0.017)	(–4.736)	(–1.684)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_3$	–0.051***	0.008	–0.058***	0.008	0.071***	–0.039	–0.031	–0.084**	–0.115***	–0.003	–0.100***	–0.025
	(–3.539)	(0.556)	(–4.225)	(0.414)	(2.710)	(–1.397)	(–1.194)	(–2.310)	(–4.118)	(–0.116)	(–4.368)	(–0.811)
${{\mathrm{Bank}}_{\mathrm{CR}}}_{\mathrm{bigfour}}$	–0.033***	0.001	–0.057***	–0.029*	0.070***	–0.096***	–0.005	–0.095***	–0.070***	0.082***	–0.110***	–0.081***
	(–2.588)	(0.060)	(–4.727)	(–1.759)	(2.710)	(–3.621)	(–0.209)	(–2.949)	(–2.800)	(4.069)	(–5.309)	(–2.888)
Control variables	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Year FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note: The figures in round brackets indicate the robust t-statistics.

***, ** and * indicate significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels, respectively. All the independent variables are the one-year lagged values.

NPI: nonpolluting industries, PI: polluting industries.

The classification between NPI and PI is according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. To save space, we do not report the coefficient estimates of all control variables.

Source: This study.