**7.1 Theoretical contributions**

This study unearths the link between board elements and CSR spending by banks in the context of an emerging economy. The banking industry deals with multifaceted stakeholders compared to conventional manufacturing and trading firms. Also, banks play a critical role in enhancing the economic growth rates by effectively intermediating funds to various sectors, some of which are environmentally sensitive. Thus, this study falls under the ambit of corporate governance, stakeholder and legitimacy theories. Our results suggest that board elements, such as board size and independence, are essential factors for promoting CSR spending by banks. By contrast, the presence of women on the board negates the same, and board meeting frequency has no such connection. This result is critical for the literature on bank governance. At the same time, it expects to raise interest in studying CSR performance by diverse stakeholders because CSR spending can enhance a bank's relational and reputational capitals, which are needed to ensure long-term sustainable success. Also, our results can help banks restructure board elements to reap the benefits of CSR spending, which is one of the powerful financial instruments for obtaining legitimacy by societal forces.
