ABSTRACT Grounded in the theories of stakeholder and corporate social responsibility (CSR), the study investigates the role of businesses in responding to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in an emerging market economy such as Bangladesh. Employing a convenience sampling procedure, ten commercial banks were selected as the sample for the study, and the content analysis method was utilised for data analysis. After examining the annual reports of a sample of banks, the study reveals that they have implemented diverse health safety, consumer essential needs, and community development-oriented CSR policies to safeguard their core stakeholders, such as employees, customers, and communities, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. This indicates that corporations, through CSR initiatives, can maintain a win-win relationship between business and society, even in a crisis period. Lastly, the researcher recorded implications and proposed directions for future research on CSR policies in similar critical times, albeit in different circumstances.