Chao Nan, Zhou Yu, Yang Haifen
School of Economics and Management, Hebei Agricultural University, China.
School of Public Affairs, Xiamen University, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Apr 9;10(8):e29412. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29412. eCollection 2024 Apr 30.
Under the impact of the business sinking of large commercial banks and the cross-border competition of fintech companies, digital transformation has become a strategic priority for rural commercial banks. However, can digital transformation improve the profitability of rural commercial banks (PORCB)? This aspect has not been thoroughly examined in academic literature. This study utilizes unbalanced panel data from 54 Chinese rural commercial banks spanning from 2010 to 2021. The Peking University Commercial Bank Digital Transformation Index is employed to gauge the extent of digital transformation, while ordinary least squares estimation is used to examine its effect on the profitability of rural commercial banks and elucidate its underlying mechanisms. The findings show that: (1) Digital transformation can significantly improve the PORCB. (2) Digital transformation improves the PORCB by enhancing asset quality, operating efficiency and risk-taking. (3) The profitability-enhancing effect of digital transformation is more pronounced among rural commercial business banks with larger assets and lower equity concentration, as well as among state-owned rural commercial banks. This paper's findings represent a novel investigation into the correlation between digital transformation and the profitability of rural commercial banks. They offer a theoretical foundation and empirical evidence for future studies examining the economic implications of bank digital transformation, and offer valuable insights for enhancing the digitalisation of rural banks.
在大型商业银行商业下沉和金融科技公司跨境竞争的冲击下，数字化转型已成为农村商业银行的战略重点。然而，数字化转型能否提高农村商业银行的盈利能力（PORCB）？这方面在学术文献中尚未得到充分研究。本研究利用了2010年至2021年期间54家中国农村商业银行的非平衡面板数据。采用北京大学商业银行数字化转型指数来衡量数字化转型的程度，同时使用普通最小二乘法估计来检验其对农村商业银行盈利能力的影响，并阐明其潜在机制。研究结果表明：（1）数字化转型能够显著提高农村商业银行的盈利能力。（2）数字化转型通过提高资产质量、运营效率和风险承担来提高农村商业银行的盈利能力。（3）数字化转型对盈利能力的提升作用在资产规模较大、股权集中度较低的农村商业银行以及国有农村商业银行中更为显著。本文的研究结果是对农村商业银行数字化转型与盈利能力之间相关性的一项新调查。它们为未来研究银行数字化转型的经济影响提供了理论基础和实证证据，并为加强农村银行数字化提供了有价值的见解。
