Summary:
As a technology-driven financial innovation, financial technology (Fintech) is an important mechanism for deepening the structural reform of the financial supply side and enhancing the ability of the financial sector to serve the real economy. Numerous studies examine the real economic effects of Fintech development. The majority of these studies use the Peking University Digital Financial Inclusion Index to measure Fintech development and analyze its impact on urban income distribution, economic growth, investment, financing and innovation of listed firms and household entrepreneurial activities. The Peking University Digital Financial Inclusion Index, which is compiled by Ant Financial Group, mainly measures the level of non-bank Fintech development. However, studies have yet to examine how non-bank Fintech services that are mainly provided to small and micro enterprises and individuals affect the financing activities of large enterprises. This paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature by exploring the spillover effect of non-bank Fintech development on the financing costs of large enterprises, such as listed companies, and the mechanism of its transmission. The development of non-bank Fintech can reduce the financing costs of listed companies through the channels of credit competition and information spillover. Compared with traditional financial institutions such as commercial banks, non-bank Fintech companies tend to provide more credit services to small customers. This increase in credit supply reduces the market share that originally belonged to commercial banks. This competitive pressure may prompt commercial banks to increase their risk-taking, lower their credit thresholds or offer more “attractive” loans to maintain their competitive advantages. Thus, large enterprises may have access to more favorable credit services. However, non-bank Fintech also leads to the generation of more digital transaction records, enhances the capacity of commercial banks to recognize the demand for financial services and reduces information asymmetry in the credit market. The wide application of Fintech also provides new technologies and new methods for commercial bank credit management, and thus reduces moral hazard and operational risk as well as the credit management costs of banks. Based on financial data from Chinese A-share listed companies, commercial bank data and the Peking University Digital Inclusive Financial Index, this paper explores the effects of non-bank Fintech development on the borrowing costs of listed companies. The empirical results show that for every 10% increase in the level of non-bank Fintech development, corporate borrowing costs decline, on average, by 1.6 percentage points. This effect is more pronounced for smaller firms and firms with poorer financing capabilities, and in areas with higher levels of bank competition. In addition, the development of non-bank Fintech is correlated with a significant reduction in the ratio of non-performing loans and a reduction in the business and administrative expenses of commercial banks. In other words, in addition to increasing competition in the commercial bank credit market, and thereby reducing the cost of corporate borrowing, the development of non-bank Fintech results in information spillover, which can effectively improve the efficiency of bank credit management. The findings of this paper have a number of policy implications. First, the findings show that the development of non-bank Fintech can help residents and small and micro enterprises obtain financial services and indirectly reduce the financing costs of large firms. Thus, the government should further promote the construction of digital financial infrastructure, as a sound digital financial platform will enable non-bank Fintech to increasingly optimize the supply of financial services. Second, the digitalization of financial services is an unstoppable trend, and commercial banks should therefore actively embrace digital transformation. Although the development of non-bank Fintech creates competitive pressure, the multi-dimensional information it generates also brings new opportunities for banks. The sooner banks implement digital transformation, the better placed they will be in future market competition. Finally, enterprises should actively promote digital construction and the accumulation of their own data. Information is an important resource for enterprises as it enables them to better understand their operating conditions. Moreover, Fintech data effectively transmit more dimensional information to the market, thus enabling firms to obtain support from the financial market and conduct better business.
彭俞超, 马思超. 非银行金融科技与上市公司借贷成本——竞争压力还是信息溢出？[J]. 金融研究, 2022, 510(12): 93-111.
PENG Yuchao, MA Sichao. Non-Bank Fintech and Listed Company Borrowing Costs: Competitive Pressure or Information Spillover？. Journal of Financial Research, 2022, 510(12): 93-111.
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