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Abstract Against the backdrop of the digital age, commercial banks have accelerated their digital transformation in an effort to improve the quality and efficiency of inclusive financial services. Given the limitations in technical resources and capital strength, small-medium banks (SMBs) often need to accelerate the layout of FinTech with the help of third-party forces. However, there is a lack of systematic research on how FinTech can promote inclusive financial services for small and medium-sized banks, especially from the perspective of strategic cooperation.
This paper examines the impact of strategic cooperation between SMBs and FinTech companies on the availability of credit to SMEs using unbalanced panel data from 140 small and medium-sized banks from 2010-2022. The findings suggest that strategic cooperation between small and medium-sized banks and FinTech companies can effectively enhance SME credit supply. Mechanism analysis shows that banks’ strategic cooperation is mainly transmitted through the income level channel. Through further examinations of the differences in the impact of different ways, modes and paths of strategic cooperation on SME credit supply, it can be found that, in terms of different cooperation modes and compared with relying solely on FinTech companies to enhance digital technology, strategic cooperation between small and medium-sized banks and FinTech companies in the form of co-construction has a more significant role in promoting SME credit accessibility. From the perspective of different cooperation modes, the strategic cooperation mode of technology introduction and co-built labs or platforms is more effective in promoting SME credit supply. From the perspective of different cooperation paths, strategic cooperation between small and medium-sized banks and FinTech companies in the field of risk control or marketing can effectively enhance the availability of SME credit. In addition, heterogeneity analysis finds that the promotion effect of strategic cooperation between banks and FinTech companies on credit availability of SMBs is more significant among small-sized, highly profitable, and low-risk-tolerant banks.
This paper draws the following policy implication: (1) SMBs should deepen the concept of strategic cooperation, grasp their own soft information advantages such as geographic location, affinity, and person-to-person relationship, and actively carry out FinTech innovation with the help of third-party technological advantages and innovations, so as to make themselves stand in the competition; (2) SMBs should lay out the FinTech at the right time according to our own situation to ensure that the strategic cooperation will bring substantial improvement for the bank; (3) SMBs should carefully examine our unique business model, market position and technology foundation, choose the right cooperation track and prioritize the solution of core pain points.
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Published: 21 September 2025
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