Can the Digital Transformation of Rural Credit Institutions Promote the Balancing of Dual Targets？ Analysis Based on the Perspective of Provincial Credit Cooperatives Union “Big Platform” Mode
WANG Xiuhua, PENG Derong, ZHAO Yaxiong
College of Finance and Statistics, Hunan University
Summary:
Rural credit institutions often face conflicts between financial and social targets when providing inclusive financial services through traditional ways. Digital transformation offers new possibilities to alleviate this dual-target conflict. However, constrained by insufficient capital, talent, and technology, rural credit institutions find it difficult to achieve a digital breakthrough independently. Provincial credit cooperatives unions(PCCUs) have gradually become the key drivers of digital transformation for rural credit institutions. Data show that by the end of 2023, 26 provincial-level unions had explicitly stated their intention to leverage their scale advantages to build unified digital technology platforms to support the digital transformation of affiliated rural credit institutions. The fundamental aim of rural credit institutions in actively promoting digital transformation is to enhance operational capabilities and improve the quality and efficiency of services for agriculture, rural areas, and farmers (“Sannong”) through digital technologies. Therefore, whether the current digital transformation driven by PCU-based “big platform” is effective, whether it can genuinely enhance their capacity to serve "Sannong", and it can help rural credit institutions balancing financial and social targets are pressing practical questions that require answers. From the perspective of balancing financial and social targets, this paper utilizes micro-level data of rural credit institutions from 2011 to 2022 to examine the effectiveness of digital transformation under the PCCU “big platform” mode. The study finds that, first, the digital transformation under the PCCU “big platform” mode not only enables rural credit institutions to balance financial and social targets but also facilitates mutual reinforcement between the two objectives. Second, the mechanism through which this mode promotes such dual-target balancing lies in its ability to enhance the operational efficiency and agricultural support efficiency of rural credit institutions, reduce operational and management costs, and strengthen risk control capabilities. Third, although the digital transformation under the “big platform” mode can raise the interest spread on the loan side and thereby expand profit margins, it does not have a significant effect on the deposit-side interest spread, which poses a challenge to the realization of dual-target balancing for rural credit institutions. Fourth, the digital transformation driven by the PCCU “big platform” mode is more effective for small-scale institutions, those located in regions with higher levels of digital financial development, and those in eastern China. The contributions of this paper are as follows: First, while existing studies mainly focus on the digital transformation of large or listed banks, this paper turns its attention to the digital transformation modes and outcomes of relatively weaker rural credit institutions, thereby enriching the literature on the digital transformation of commercial banks. Second, although a few studies pay attention to the digital transformation of rural financial institutions, they tend to focus on individual institutions, overlooking the coordinating and supporting role of PCCUs in the transformation process. This paper focuses on the PCCU digital “big platform” and investigates the financial and social effects of PCCU-driven digital transformation of rural credit institutions, which helps broaden existing research. Third, differing from the existing literature that often treats financial and social targets in isolation, this paper employs a system of simultaneous equations to evaluate the effects of digital transformation from the perspective of balancing both targets and considers their mutual influences, thereby enhancing the robustness of the analytical conclusions. The policy implications of this paper are as follows: First, it is essential to fully leverage the coordinating function of PCCUs to advance the digital transformation of rural credit institutions. In promoting reforms to the PCCU system, efforts should be made to strengthen its service and coordination capacity and harness its advantages in resource allocation, technological integration, and platform development through scale and intensification. At the same time, the orderly promotion of the establishment of provincial-level joint-stock rural commercial banks or provincial rural commercial banks should be pursued to further enhance their capabilities in digital system development and technological integration. Second, differentiated digital development paths should be explored to improve the profitability of rural credit institutions. While promoting unified digital transformation under PCCU coordination, over-reliance on PCCU digital platforms should be avoided. For rural credit institutions with a specific scale and capability, independent efforts to develop and apply digital technologies through multiple ways should be encouraged to achieve differentiated digital development. Third, a favorable external environment for the digital transformation of rural credit institutions should be cultivated. When formulating digital development policies, regulatory authorities should adopt targeted measures, increase investment in digital infrastructure in regions with low levels of digital development and weak financial foundations, enhance the provision of necessary financial, human, and technical support, and promote balanced digital development across regions.
王修华, 彭德荣, 赵亚雄. 农信机构数字化转型能否促进双重目标兼顾？——基于省联社“大平台”模式视角的分析[J]. 金融研究, 2025, 538(4): 75-94.
WANG Xiuhua, PENG Derong, ZHAO Yaxiong. Can the Digital Transformation of Rural Credit Institutions Promote the Balancing of Dual Targets？ Analysis Based on the Perspective of Provincial Credit Cooperatives Union “Big Platform” Mode. Journal of Financial Research, 2025, 538(4): 75-94.
[1] 丁鑫和周晔,2024,《数字化转型与银行信贷配置——基于银行贷款投向实体经济的视角》,《数量经济技术经济研究》第3期,第193～216页。 [2] 郭晔、未钟琴和方颖,2022,《金融科技布局、银行信贷风险与经营绩效——来自商业银行与科技企业战略合作的证据》,《金融研究》第10期,第20～38页。 [3] 何德旭和苗文龙,2015,《金融排斥、金融包容与中国普惠金融制度的构建》,《财贸经济》第3期,第5～16页。 [4] 蒋海、唐绅峰和吴文洋,2023,《数字化转型对商业银行风险承担的影响研究——理论逻辑与经验证据》,《国际金融研究》第1期,第62～73页。 [5] 金洪飞、李弘基和刘音露,2020,《金融科技、银行风险与市场挤出效应》,《财经研究》第5期,第52～65页。 [6] 金星晔、左从江、方明月和聂辉华,2024,《企业数字化转型的测度难题:基于大语言模型的新方法与新发现》,《经济研究》第3期,第34～53页。 [7] 刘丹、尤佳和张龙耀,2023,《金融科技对农村商业银行绩效的影响:“契机”还是“阻力”——以江苏省为例》,《中国农村经济》第11期,第122～139页。 [8] 李华民和吴非,2019,《银行规模、贷款技术与小企业融资》,《财贸经济》第9期,第84~101页。 [9] 罗煜、崔书言和旷纯,2022,《数字化与商业银行经营转型——基于传统业务结构变迁视角》,《国际金融研究》第5期,第34～44页。 [10] 亓浩、周月书和何立峰,2024a,《数字化转型与农村金融机构双重绩效提升》,《中国农村观察》第1期,第108～126页。 [11] 亓浩、周月书和何立峰,2024b,《农村金融机构数字化转型与金融服务质效》,《财经研究》第1期,第64～78页。 [12] 孙同全、邓晗和田雅群,2024,《中国政策性农业信贷担保制度溯源、运行逻辑与演化前景》,《中国农村经济》第9期,第63～79页。 [13] 王道平、刘杨婧卓、徐宇轩和刘琳琳,2022,《金融科技、宏观审慎监管与我国银行系统性风险》,《财贸经济》第4期,第71～84页。 [14] 王世强、陈逸豪和叶光亮,2020,《数字经济中企业歧视性定价与质量竞争》,《经济研究》第12期,第115～131页。 [15] 王伟和温涛,2019,《涉农贷款拖累了农村金融机构经营绩效吗》,《农业技术经济》第2期,第73～84页。 [16] 王修华和赵亚雄,2020,《数字金融发展是否存在马太效应？——贫困户与非贫困户的经验比较》,《金融研究》第7期,第114～133页。 [17] 谢绚丽和王诗卉,2022,《中国商业银行数字化转型:测度、进程及影响》,《经济学(季刊)》第6期,第1937～1956页。 [18] 张宁、张兵和吴依含,2022,《农户信用评级对农村商业银行绩效的影响——基于典型试验区的追踪调查》,《中国农村经济》第10期,第102～123页。 [19] 张正平和王子源,2020,《省联社在农信机构数字化转型中的作用》,《农村金融研究》第4期,第30～36页。 [20] 张正平、夏海和毛学峰,2020,《省联社干预对农信机构信贷行为和盈利能力的影响——基于省联社官网信息的文本分析与实证检验》,《中国农村经济》第9期,第21～40页。 [21] 赵旭,2009,《银行利差多维度量及影响因素:基于中国银行业1998—2006年经验证据》,《金融研究》第1期,第66～80页。 [22] 郑休休、刘青和赵忠秀,2022,《产业关联、区域边界与国内国际双循环相互促进——基于联立方程组模型的实证研究》,《管理世界》第11期,第56～70+145+71～80页。 [23] 张一林、郁芸君和陈珠明,2021,《人工智能、中小企业融资与银行数字化转型》,《中国工业经济》第12期,第69～87页。 [24] 周月书和彭媛媛,2017,《双重目标如何影响了农村商业银行的风险？》,《中国农村观察》第4期,第102～115页。 [25] 朱太辉和张彧通,2021,《农村中小银行数字化转型研究》,《金融监管研究》第4期,第36～58页。 [26] Ayadi R, Chiaramonte L, Cucinelli D, Milena M., 2025, “Digitalization and banks' efficiency: Evidence from a European analysis”, International Review of Financial Analysis, 97: 103837. [27] Banna, H. and M. R. Alam. 2021, “Does digital financial inclusion matter for bank risk-taking？ Evidence from the dual-banking system”, Journal of Islamic Monetary Economics and Finance, 7(2), pp.401～430. [28] Constantinides P., Henfridsson O., Parker G. G., 2018, “Introduction—platforms and infrastructures in the digital age”, Information Systems Research, 29(2): pp.381～400. [29] Dubé, J. P., Z. Fang, N. Fong, and X. Luo, 2017, “Competitive price targeting with smartphone coupons”, Marketing Science 36(6): pp.944～975. [30] Greene, W., 2005, “Fixed and random effects in stochastic frontier models”, Journal of productivity analysis, 23: pp.7～32. [31] Li, C., S. He, Y. Tian, S. Sun and L. Ning, 2022, “Does the bank's FinTech innovation reduce its risk-taking？ Evidence from China's banking industry”, Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 73: 100219. [32] Valverde, S. C. and F. R. Fernández, 2007, “The determinants of bank margins in European banking”, Journal of Banking & Finance, 31(7): pp.2043～2063. [33] Wang, Y., Jiang, A., Zhang, S., and Chen, W., 2024, “Traditional finance, digital finance, and financial efficiency: An empirical analysis based on 19 urban agglomerations in China”, International Review of Financial Analysis, 96: 103603. [34] Zhao J., X. Li, C. Yu, S. Chen, and C. Lee, 2022,“Riding the FinTech innovation wave: FinTech, patents and bank performance”, Journal of International Money and Finance, 122: 102552.
