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Does FinTech Increase Bank Risk Taking?

Author

Listed:
  • Mr. Selim A Elekdag
  • Drilona Emrullahu
  • Sami Ben Naceur

Abstract

Motivated by its rapid growth, this paper investigates how FinTech activities influence risk taking by financial intermediaries (FIs). In this context, this paper revisits an ongoing debate on the impact of competition on financial stability: on one side, it is argued that greater competition encourages greater risk taking (competition-fragility hypothesis), while the other side of the debate asserts that more competition can increase financial stability (competition-stability hypothesis). Using a curated databased covering over 10,000 FIs and global FinTech activities, we find a robust relationship whereby greater FinTech presence is associated with heightened risk taking by FIs, offering support for the competition-fragility hypothesis. However, the inclusion of bank-, industry-, and country-specific characteristics can alter this relationship. Importantly, there is suggestive evidence indicating that in certain cases, greater FinTech presence may be associated with less FI risk taking amid stronger domestic institutions. Notwithstanding the relevance for policy, this paper presents a novel framework that may help reconcile some of the conflicting results in the literature which have found supportive evidence for each of the two competing hypotheses.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Selim A Elekdag & Drilona Emrullahu & Sami Ben Naceur, 2024. "Does FinTech Increase Bank Risk Taking?," IMF Working Papers 2024/017, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2024/017
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    Keywords

    fintech; bank risk taking; competition; competition-fragility hypothesis; FinTech activity; FI risk; competition-stability hypothesis; market power; Commercial banks; Cooperative banks; Financial statements; Global;
    All these keywords.

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