000			02021cam a2200229 4500500
005			20260322004105.0
041			_afre
042			_adc
100	1	0	_aFouquau, Julien _eauthor
700	1	0	_aSchoder, André _eauthor
245	0	0	_aBreaking Bad News: The Market Impact of ESG Controversies in Finance
260			_c2026.
500			_a23
520			_aThis paper analyzes how daily stock returns respond to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) controversy coverage at the firm level in news and social media using time-series analysis. Our sample comprises all 73 financial firms in the S&P 500 from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2024. Our results show that controversies negatively affect financial firms’ stock returns. Social and governance controversies exert stronger negative effects than environmental ones. Banks experience larger controversy-related stock declines than other financial institutions, reflecting greater public scrutiny and regulatory exposure. In robustness checks, we find that the negative effects of ESG controversies on stock returns persist across different periods (2010 – 2024, 2015 – 2024, and 2020 – 2024) and hold in panel analyses accounting for industry effects within financial institutions. These findings highlight the financial materiality of ESG risks and the importance for investors and regulators to monitor firms’ exposure to social and governance-related controversies closely. The results also suggest that financial institutions, particularly banks, should proactively manage reputational risks to maintain investor confidence. Classification JEL G12 G14 G21 G23
690			_aasset pricing
690			_abanks and asset managers
690			_abehavioral finance
690			_aESG controversies
690			_amedia sentiment
786	0		_nBankers, Markets & Investors | 182 | 3 | 2026-02-17 | p. 5-28 | 2101-9304
856	4	1	_uhttps://shs.cairn.info/revue-bankers-markets-investors-2026-1-page-5?lang=en&redirect-ssocas=7080
999			_c1737290 _d1737290