As stakeholder demand for sustainability disclosures grows, understanding the drivers of authentic ESG reporting is crucial. Examining a global sample, we find that banks led by more capable managers are less likely to engage in ESG washing behaviour. This negative relationship is stronger for public, high‑reputation, high‑liquidity banks and those in high‑HDI countries. Consistent with upper echelons and signalling theories, high ability managers constrain opportunistic disclosure and produce more authentic reporting, particularly under integrated reporting frameworks, profit warnings, and controversies over accounting or executive compensation. However, elevated executive remuneration and compensations tied to performance weaken this restraining effect. We also document that managerial ability exerts its greatest effect on greenwashing, a moderate effect on governance washing, and the smallest effect on social washing. Our findings remain robust across alternative samples, model specifications, variable definitions, and endogeneity corrections.
