Research On The Impact Of Financial Technology On The Inclusive Financial Efficiency Of Urban Commercial Banks

Inclusive finance is one of the important strategic contents of China’s financial industry development and financial supply side reform.As a regional bank,urban commercial banks have close connections with local governments,enterprises,and residents,so they have unique advantages in developing inclusive financial services and supporting local economic development.However,there are still many bottlenecks in the development of inclusive finance for urban commercial banks,and issues such as misaligned development goals,mission shift,and risk exposure still need to be addressed.In recent years,the integration of technology and finance has been increasingly deepening.Financial technology,with its own advantages,can not only reduce the transaction costs of inclusive financial services,alleviate information asymmetry issues,but also innovate products,services,and models,expand financial coverage,and have a positive impact on the development of inclusive finance to a certain extent.However,on the other hand,the impact of financial technology on traditional commercial banks cannot be ignored.Therefore,can fintech help improve the inclusive financial efficiency of urban commercial banks? How does financial technology affect the efficiency of inclusive finance in urban commercial banks? What should urban commercial banks do in the future? These are all questions worth exploring.Starting from Schumpeter’s innovation theory,this article analyzes the impact mechanism of financial technology on the inclusive financial efficiency of urban commercial banks from two aspects: direct and indirect impact effects,and conducts heterogeneity analysis.In terms of demonstration,this paper selects 72 sample city commercial banks,with a time interval of 2011-2021.First of all,using Python web crawler technology and principal component analysis,this paper constructs the financial technology development index of city commercial banks.Secondly,the three-stage super-efficiency SBM model was used to calculate the inclusive financial efficiency of urban commercial banks,and heterogeneity analysis was conducted.Finally,based on this,the system GMM model was used to empirically test the impact of fintech on the efficiency of inclusive finance in urban commercial banks,and the impact mechanism and heterogeneity tests were conducted.The results show that:(1)fintech can significantly improve the efficiency of inclusive finance in urban commercial banks,and can indirectly promote the improvement of inclusive finance efficiency through technology spillover effects.(2)The impact of financial technology on the inclusive financial efficiency of urban commercial banks has regional heterogeneity,with the strongest and most significant positive impact on urban commercial banks in the western region,followed by the eastern region,and the weakest in the central region.(3)The impact of financial technology on the inclusive financial efficiency of urban commercial banks has heterogeneity in scale,and the positive effect on the inclusive financial efficiency of large,medium,and small urban commercial banks has gradually increased.(4)The overall efficiency of inclusive finance in urban commercial banks is showing a significant upward trend.But except for Bank of Beijing,all other sample city commercial banks have not fully achieved inclusive financial efficiency.This indicates that there is still significant room for improvement in the inclusive financial efficiency of urban commercial banks.From the perspective of regional heterogeneity,the efficiency of urban commercial banks in the eastern region has always been in a leading position,with similar efficiency in the central and western regions,and slightly lower efficiency in the central region than in the western region.(5)Compared with scale efficiency,pure technical efficiency is the main reason for the low efficiency of inclusive finance in urban commercial banks.Therefore,the urgent task is to improve resource allocation capacity,increase the utilization rate of investment resources,enhance the level of technology and management capabilities,and promote the improvement of inclusive financial efficiency of urban commercial banks by improving pure technical efficiency.In summary,based on the analysis results of theoretical mechanisms,urban commercial banks can use financial technology to alleviate existing problems,improve their resource allocation,optimize factor combinations,and promote the improvement of inclusive financial efficiency by improving pure technological efficiency.Based on the research in this article,the following suggestions can be put forward: firstly,at the government level.The government should accelerate the construction of financial technology infrastructure in the western region and assist small and medium-sized urban commercial banks in improving their financial technology competitiveness.Secondly,at the level of urban commercial banks.Urban commercial banks should clarify their market positioning and take the path of specialization;utilizing financial technology to enhance risk prevention and control capabilities;optimize the loan process and promote product innovation;leveraging geographical advantages and utilizing financial technology for business sinking.