Share:


Does FinTech change the market power of traditional banks in China?

    Hanying Qi   Affiliation
    ; Keng Yang Affiliation
    ; Weijia Wang Affiliation

Abstract

This study assesses the impact of the development of financial technology (FinTech) on the market power of traditional banks. We analyze the relationship between FinTech companies and traditional banks based on the barriers-to-entry theory, and verify the resulting hypothesis by using panel data from 155 Chinese commercial banks from 2013–2018. The benchmark results show that FinTech has a significant U-shaped effect on the market power of banks. Furthermore, the U-shaped effects remain robust when we focus on the technology and business innovation channels that affect banks. These effects vary across banks with different ownership structures and business segments. Specifically, municipal commercial banks are more likely to be influenced by business innovation than by technological innovation. By contrast, state-owned banks have advantages in using technological innovation to reacquire market power through loan services. Private banks, meanwhile, struggle to acquire any market power under intense competition from FinTech companies. Given that the FinTech may enable some banks overly dominate the banking industry at certain development stages, regulators and practitioners need to prevent monopoly-related problems and promote the digital transformation of small and medium-sized banks.


First published online 30 August 2022

Keyword : FinTech, traditional banks, market power, financial regulation, barrier to entry, Chinese banking

How to Cite
Qi, H., Yang, K., & Wang, W. (2022). Does FinTech change the market power of traditional banks in China?. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 23(5), 1060–1083. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2022.17184
Published in Issue
Oct 7, 2022
Abstract Views
1827
PDF Downloads
1692
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Abdeldayem, M. M., & Aldulaimi, S. (2020). Trends of global Fintech education practices and the GCC perspective. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(03), 7150–7163. http://sersc.org/journals/index.php/IJAST/article/view/7577

Agarwal, S., Ghosh P., Alok, S., & Gupta, S. (2019). Fintech and credit scoring for the millennial generation [Conference presentation]. Annual Conference. Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research.

Alhadeff, D. A. (1974). Barriers to bank entry. Southern Economic Journal, 40(4), 589–603. https://doi.org/10.2307/1056377

Alt, R., Beck, R., & Smits, M. T. (2018). FinTech and the transformation of the financial industry. Electronic Markets, 28(3), 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-018-0310-9

Armantier, O., Doerr, S., Frost, J., Fuster, A., & Shue, A. K. (2021). Whom do consumers trust with their data? US survey evidence. BIS Bulletin, 42, 1–7.

Barth, J. R., Li, L., Li, T., & Song, F. (2013). Reforms of China’s banking system. In G. Jr. Caprio, T. Beck, S. Claessens, & S. L. Schmukler (Eds.), The evidence and impact of financial globalization (pp. 345–353). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-397874-5.00005-1

Bian, W., Shen, Y., & Shen, M. (2017). Bank competition, policy incentives and SME lending: Evidence from County-level financial institution. Journal of Financial Research, 439(1), 114–129 (in Chinese). https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFDLAST2017&filename=JRYJ201701009&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=vGFPy9GNQ-vv56E3SWDSXYc439Ye5N3HQT29-u2hhanRkPGq3Y9NlBN4eTfnvKYV

Bilotta, N., & Romano, S. (2019). Tech giants in banking: The implications of a new market power. Istituto Affari Internazionali. http://www.jstor.com/stable/resrep19672

Bömer, M., & Maxin, H. (2018). Why Fintechs cooperate with banks – Evidence from Germany. Zeitschrift Für Die Gesamte Versicherungswissenschaft, 107(4), 359–386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12297-018-0421-6

Boot, A. W. A. (2016). Understanding the future of banking scale and scope economies, and Fintech. In A. Demirgüç-Kunt, D. D. Evanoff, & G. G. Kaufman (Eds.), World scientific studies in international economics: Vol. 55. The future of large, internationally active banks (pp. 431–449). World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789813141391_0025

Boot, A. W. A. (2019). Bank strategy in the world of Fintech. International Banker, 2019(Winter), 52–55. https://dare.uva.nl/search?identifier=cbcec4bf-60c9-4adf-b837-1b7dd25c86cb

Bremus, F. M. (2015). Cross-border banking, bank market structures and market power: Theory and cross-country evidence. Journal of Banking & Finance, 50, 242–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2014.10.008

Buchak, G., Matvos, G., Piskorski, T., & Seru, A. (2018). Fintech, regulatory arbitrage, and the rise of shadow banks. Journal of Financial Economics, 130(3), 453–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2018.03.011

Chen, P., & Hitt, L. M. (2005). Information technology and switching costs. In Handbook on economics and information systems (Vol. 1, pp. 437–470). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1574-0145(06)01008-7

Cheng, H., & Cheng, W. (2017). Economic new normal, the new economy, and the development and transformation of commercial banks. Financial Regulation Research, (2), 81–92 (in Chinese). https://www.cnki.net/kcms/doi/10.13490/j.cnki.frr.2017.02.006.html

Costa, A., Deb, A., & Kubzansky, M. (2015). Big Data, Small Credit: The digital revolution and its impact on emerging market consumers. Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 10(3–4), 49–80. https://doi.org/10.1162/inov_a_00240

de la Mano, M., & Padilla, J. (2018). Big Tech banking. Journal of Competition Law & Economics, 14(4), 494–526. https://doi.org/10.1093/joclec/nhz003

Ding, Z., & Wang, H. (2016). Research of country banking industry market competition in China – based on the empirical analysis of Panzar-Rosse model. Journal of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, (1), 7–12 (in Chinese). https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFDLAST2016&filename=NJJJ201601007&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=a4-UB4bvd4krXVTCy_v2X-M_kztMC-u1_F94c-ahVSkBjM9kvCg7CkDxQcSllwJl

Fang, F. (2014). China’s banking industry IT solution market 2014–2018: Forecast and analysis, IDC (in Chinese).

Feyen, E., Frost, J., Gambacorta, L., Natarajan, H., & Saal, M. (2021). Fintech and the digital transformation of financial services: Implications for market structure and public policy (BIS Papers No 117). Bank for International Settlements.

Financial Stability Board. (2019). FinTech and Market structure in financial services: Market developments and potential financial stability implications. http://www.Fsb.Org/2019/02/Fintech-And-Market-Structure-In-Financial-Services-Market-Developments-And-Potential-Financial-Stability-Implications/

Forssbæck, J., & Shehzad, C. T. (2015). The conditional effects of market power on bank risk – Cross-country evidence. Review of Finance, 19(5), 1997–2038. https://doi.org/10.1093/rof/rfu044

Freixas, X., & Rochet, J. C. (2008). Microeconomics of banking. The MIT Press.

Gai, K., Qiu, M., & Sun, X. (2018). A survey on FinTech. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 103, 262–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnca.2017.10.011

Gao, H., Ru, H., Townsend, R., & Yang, X. (2019). Rise of bank competition: Evidence from banking deregulation in China (NBER Working Paper No 25795). https://doi.org/10.3386/w25795

Gehrig, T., & Stenbacka, R. (2004). Differentiation-induced switching costs and poaching. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 13(4), 635–655. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1430-9134.2004.00026.x

Gomber, P., Koch, J. A., & Siering, M. (2017). Digital finance and FinTech: Current research and future research directions. Journal of Business Economics, 87(5), 537–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-017-0852-x

Guo, F., Wang, J., Wang, F., Cheng, Z., Kong, T., & Zhang, X. (2020). Measuring China’s digital financial inclusion: Index compilation and spatial characteristics. China Economic Quarterly, 19(4), 1401–1418 (in Chinese). https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?doi=10.13821/j.cnki.ceq.2020.03.12

Hirt, M., & Willmott, P. (2014). Strategic principles for competing in the digital age. McKinsey Quarterly.

Hodula, M. (2021). Does Fintech credit substitute for traditional credit? Evidence from 78 countries. Finance Research Letters, 102469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2021.102469

Hung, J., & Luo, B. (2016). FinTech in Taiwan: A case study of a Bank’s strategic planning for an investment in a FinTech company. Financial Innovation, 2(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-016-0037-6

Jagtiani, J., & Lemieux, C. (2017). Fintech lending: Financial inclusion, risk pricing, and alternative information (Working Paper No. 17-17 of Research Department). Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. https://doi.org/10.21799/frbp.wp.2017.17

Keeley, M. C. (1990). Deposit insurance, risk, and market power in banking. American Economic Review, 80(5), 1183–1200. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2006769

Kerényi, Á., & Molnár, J., (2017). The impact of the fintech phenomenon – Radical change occurs in the financial sector? Hitelintézeti Szemle, 16(3), 32–50. https://doi.org/10.25201/FER.16.3.3250

Lacasse, R. M. (2021). A digital tsunami: FinTech and crowdfunding.

Landes, W. M., & Posner, R. A. (1981). Market power in antitrust cases. Harvard Law Review, 94(5), 937–996. https://doi.org/10.2307/1340687

Li, G. (2015). Estimation of the degree of competition in China’s bank loan market based on Boone indicator. The Journal of Quantitative & Technical Economics, 32(05), 131–146. (In Chinese). https://www.cnki.net/kcms/doi/10.13653/j.cnki.jqte.2015.05.009.html

Liu, L. (2014). Impact Analysis of Internet Financial Credit Reporting to China’s Commercial Bank Credit Monopoly. South China Finance, (8), 21–26 (in Chinese). https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFD2014&filename=GDJR201408004&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=zeMWDIaTO7WKogzhAXi34jGncb-1xSoqopvynk8t_pbPg9iMSis0c-F6EFKbqBx_

Liu, L., Yu, J., Yang, J., & Zhu, X. (2017). Is competition a double-edged sword for the bank credit structure adjustment? Evidence from the Proccess of Interest Rate Liberalization in China. Economic Research Journal, 52(5), 131–145 (in Chinese). https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFDLAST2017&filename=JJYJ201705018&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=-BUDyLuTJTpUDkKckp9F8_9Orn9C3qrJpWlMKhYY4L7NIJSYzUmUo9E9FuK0pMsq

Matsumura, Y. (2018). Information advantage, relationship advantage and competition in banking industry. https://web.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~matsumur/matsumura2018OT.pdf

Navaretti, G. B., Calzolari, G., & Pozzolo, A. F. (2017). FinTech and banks. Friends or foes? European Economy – Banks, Regulation, and the Real Sector, (2), 9–30. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3099337

Ndwiga, D. (2020). The effects of FinTechs on bank market power and risk-taking behaviour in Kenya (KBA Centre for Research on Financial Markets and Policy Working Paper Series 44). Kenya Bankers Association (KBA). https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/kbawps/44.html

Ngai, J. L., Qu, J., & Zhou, N. (2016). What’s next for China’s booming Fintech sector? McKinsey & Company.

Niu, H., & Min, D. (2015). The Influencing mechanism of Internet financialization on commercial bank. Journal of Hebei University of Economics and Business, 36(3), 66–71 (in Chinese).

OECD. (2020). Digital disruption in banking and its impact on competition. https://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/digital-disruption-in-banking-and-its-impact-on-competition-2020.pdf

Palmer, J. (1974). Barriers to entry as a measure of a firm’s Monopoly Power. The American Economist, 18(1), 33–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/056943457401800105

Panetta, F. (2018, May 12). Fintech and banking: Today and tomorrow. BIS Central bankers’ speeches. https://www.bis.org/review/r180515d.htm

Papadimitri, P., Tasiou, M., Tsagkarakis, M., & Pasiouras, F. (2021). FinTech and Financial Intermediation. In M. Pompella & R. Matousek (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of fintech and blockchain (pp. 347–374). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66433-6_16

Parlour, C. A., Rajan, U., & Zhu, H. (2019). FinTech disruption, payment data, and bank information. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/FinTech-Disruption%2C-Payment-Data%2C-and-Bank-Parlour-Rajan/71952a2b43594c3f6331ce68114173f9df36cc4e#citing-papers

Plesser, S., Aurora, D., & Browne, B. (2019). The future of banking: The growth of technology. S&P global rating. https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/articles/the-future-of-banking-the-growth-of-technology-and-its-impact-on-the-u-s-banking-sector

Restoy, F. (2021). Fintech regulation: How to achieve a level playing field (Occasional paper No. 17). Financial Stability Institute of Bank for International Settlements. https://www.bis.org/fsi/fsipapers17.htm

Schmalensee, R. (1982). Another look at market power. Harvard Law Review, 95(8), 1789–1816. https://doi.org/10.2307/1340649

Shaffer, S., & Spierdijk, L. (2020). Measuring multi-product banks’ market power using the Lerner index. Journal of Banking & Finance, 117, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2020.105859

Shim, Y., & Shin, D. (2016). Analyzing China’s Fintech industry from the perspective of actor-network theory. Telecommunications Policy, 40(2–3), 168–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2015.11.005

Su, C., Qin, M., Rizvi, S. K. A., & Umar, M. (2020). Bank competition in China: A blessing or a curse for financial system? Ekonomska Istraživanja, 34(1), 1244–1264. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2020.1820361

Sun, G., & Luan, X. (2019). Two-track interest rate pricing and the pricing of the loan rate in the context of the loan market of monopolistic competition. Finance & Trade Economics, 40(11), 81–97 (in Chinese). https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?doi=10.19795/j.cnki.cn11-1166/f.20191111.003

Tabak, B. M., Fazio, D. M., & Cajueiro, D. O. (2012). The relationship between banking market competition and risk-taking: Do size and capitalization matter? Journal of Banking & Finance, 36(12), 3366–3381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2012.07.022

Tanda, A., & Schena, C. (2019). FinTech, BigTech and banks. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22426-4

Thakor, A. V. (2020). Fintech and banking: What do we know? Journal of Financial Intermediation, 41, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfi.2019.100833

Varian, H., Farrell, J., & Shapiro, C. (2004). The economics of information technology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511754166

Vives, X. (2017). The impact of Fintech on banking. European Economy - Banks, Regulation, and the Real Sector, (2), 97–157.

Vives, X. (2019). Competition and stability in modern banking: A Post-crisis perspective. International Journal of Industrial Organization, (64), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2018.08.011

Wang, L., & Kapron, Z. (2020). The future of Fintech cooperation – A report from Kapronasia & Ant Financial. Kapronasia.

Wen, Z., & Chen, J. (2002). Study on network effect and barriers to entry. Systems Engineering – Theory & Practice, (2), 61–66 (in Chinese). https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFD2002&filename=XTLL200202009&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=kcdeKhm3qtgKDB7S_GtBLeE2k2_BPlkuXqxPPH8Q7BtiJ0V78W0p4WMwBZ4oC34g

Zhu, W., & Sun, Y. (2004). The research of new classical theory about the market structure of competitive monopoly in new economy. Jinan Journal (Philosophy & Social Sciences), (5), 1–5+133 (in Chinese). https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFD2004&filename=JNXB200405000&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=OzRi62A85kP4ED0tCdrutdk3VIoLMOBVOzRJBvk3zOCBmnvMReQzsgDUoUYg-fLG