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The value of financial intermediation: Evidence from online debt crowdfunding

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  • Braggion, Fabio
  • Manconi, Alberto
  • Pavanini, Nicola
  • Zhu, Haikun

Abstract

Most online marketplaces are peer-to-peer. Credit ones, however, are not and they have resurrected many features of traditional financial intermediaries. To understand why, we use online credit as a laboratory to investigate the value of financial intermediation. We develop a structural model of online debt crowdfunding and estimate it on a novel database. We find that abandoning the peer-to-peer paradigm raises lender surplus, platform profits, and credit provision, but exposes investors to liquidity risk. A counterfactual where the platform resembles a bank by bearing liquidity risk can generate larger lender surplus and credit provision when liquidity is low and lenders are risk averse.

Suggested Citation

  • Braggion, Fabio & Manconi, Alberto & Pavanini, Nicola & Zhu, Haikun, 2025. "The value of financial intermediation: Evidence from online debt crowdfunding," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:172:y:2025:i:c:s0304405x25001217
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2025.104113
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    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm

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