Green credit as ex ante climate-risk mitigation: Financing constraints, fintech amplification, and textual evidence from Chinese banks

Corporate climate-risk disclosure is crucial for financial stability; however, micro-evidence on green credit as an ex ante risk mitigation tool remains limited. This study examined whether green credit ratios reduce banks’ climate-risk disclosure, the financing-constraint relief channel, and fintech’s amplifying role. Using an unbalanced panel (2008–2023) of 42 Chinese listed banks and a 98-word climate-risk dictionary, we measured disclosure intensity through textual analysis of annual reports. Notably, a 1-percentage-point increase in green credit reduces climate-risk disclosure by 4.4 basis points. Financing-constraint relief accounts for 2.6 % of this effect while fintech depth almost doubles the marginal impact. These findings remain robust across lagged specifications, stepwise controls, ownership heterogeneity, and alternative variable definitions. This study provides empirical evidence on green credit’s risk-buffering role and offers policy insights for regulators to design channel-based capital incentives that reward verifiable climate-risk reduction instead of cosmetic green-washing.