IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/ijfiec/v31y2026i2p1957-1978.html

Climate Risk and Risk‐Taking of Rural Financial Institutions in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoming Zhang
  • Luping He
  • Chien‐Chiang Lee

Abstract

The research identifies the impact of climate risk on the risk‐taking of rural financial institutions in China and its mechanism, using 279 rural financial institutions from 2011 to 2021 as the research sample. Results show that climate risk significantly increases the risk‐taking of rural financial institutions, and agricultural economic development plays a mediating effect in the impact of climate risk on the risk‐taking of rural financial institutions. The impact of climate risk on the risk‐taking of rural financial institutions in China is more pronounced among financial institutions that have higher climate policy uncertainty and larger government environmental expenditures. Finally, the impact of climate risk on the risk‐taking of rural financial institutions in northern China is greater than that in southern China.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoming Zhang & Luping He & Chien‐Chiang Lee, 2026. "Climate Risk and Risk‐Taking of Rural Financial Institutions in China," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 1957-1978, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:ijfiec:v:31:y:2026:i:2:p:1957-1978
    DOI: 10.1002/ijfe.70025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.70025
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/ijfe.70025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ströbel, Johannes & Wurgler, Jeffrey, 2021. "What do you think about climate finance?," CEPR Discussion Papers 16622, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    2. Roncoroni, Alan & Battiston, Stefano & Escobar-Farfán, Luis O.L. & Martinez-Jaramillo, Serafin, 2021. "Climate risk and financial stability in the network of banks and investment funds," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    3. Yener Altunbas & Leonardo Gambacorta & David Marques-Ibanez, 2010. "Does monetary policy affect bank risk-taking?," BIS Working Papers 298, Bank for International Settlements.
    4. Garcia-Villegas, Salomon & Martorell, Enric, 2024. "Climate transition risk and the role of bank capital requirements," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    5. Chen, Yufeng & Ma, Yanbai, 2021. "Does green investment improve energy firm performance?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    6. Sultanuzzaman, Md Reza & Yahya, Farzan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2024. "Exploring the complex interplay of green finance, business cycles, and energy development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    7. Katie Kedward & Josh Ryan-Collins & Hugues Chenet, 2023. "Biodiversity loss and climate change interactions: financial stability implications for central banks and financial supervisors," Post-Print hal-04272244, HAL.
    8. Karydas, Christos & Xepapadeas, Anastasios, 2022. "Climate change financial risks: Implications for asset pricing and interest rates," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    9. Carter, Michael R. & Little, Peter D. & Mogues, Tewodaj & Negatu, Workneh, 2007. "Poverty Traps and Natural Disasters in Ethiopia and Honduras," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 835-856, May.
    10. Shanghui Jia & Xinhui Chen & Liyan Han & Jiayu Jin, 2023. "Global climate change and commodity markets: A hedging perspective," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(10), pages 1393-1422, October.
    11. Ma, Dandan & Zhang, Dayong & Guo, Kun & Ji, Qiang, 2024. "Coupling between global climate policy uncertainty and economic policy uncertainty," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PB).
    12. Song, Xiaoni & Fang, Tong, 2023. "Temperature shocks and bank systemic risk: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    13. Amine Ouazad & Matthew E Kahn, 2022. "Mortgage Finance and Climate Change: Securitization Dynamics in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(8), pages 3617-3665.
    14. Yan, Xiang & Wang, Xuefang & Liu, Sheng, 2023. "A U-shaped relationship between real financialization and financial risk: Evidence from a single threshold model," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    15. Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2009. "Bank governance, regulation and risk taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 259-275, August.
    16. Fang, Guochang & Chen, Gang & Yang, Kun & Yin, Weijun & Tian, Lixin, 2024. "How does green fiscal expenditure promote green total factor energy efficiency? — Evidence from Chinese 254 cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PA).
    17. Katie Kedward & Josh Ryan-Collins & Hugues Chenet, 2023. "Biodiversity loss and climate change interactions: financial stability implications for central banks and financial supervisors," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 763-781, July.
    18. Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2003. "Economic Crises and Natural Disasters: Coping Strategies and Policy Implications," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1087-1102, July.
    19. Zhi Yu & Yali Cao & Mo Liu, 2022. "Does carbon emission trading policy affect bank loans of firms? Evidence from China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(18), pages 1709-1714, October.
    20. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Thinh, Bui Tien & Xu, Zhi-Ting, 2022. "Climate risk and bank liquidity creation: International evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    21. Bouri, Elie & Iqbal, Najaf & Klein, Tony, 2022. "Climate policy uncertainty and the price dynamics of green and brown energy stocks," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    22. Liu, Yulin & Wang, Junbo & Wen, Fenghua & Wu, Chunchi, 2024. "Climate policy uncertainty and bank systemic risk: A creative destruction perspective," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    23. Yasuyuki Sawada, 2017. "Disasters, Household Decisions, and Insurance Mechanisms: A Review of Evidence and a Case Study from a Developing Country in Asia," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 12(1), pages 18-40, January.
    24. Chen, Shuai & Gong, Binlei, 2021. "Response and adaptation of agriculture to climate change: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    25. Ji, Qiang & Ma, Dandan & Zhai, Pengxiang & Fan, Ying & Zhang, Dayong, 2024. "Global climate policy uncertainty and financial markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    26. Jiménez, Gabriel & Lopez, Jose A. & Saurina, Jesús, 2013. "How does competition affect bank risk-taking?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 185-195.
    27. Bernstein, Asaf & Gustafson, Matthew T. & Lewis, Ryan, 2019. "Disaster on the horizon: The price effect of sea level rise," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 253-272.
    28. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Hong, Pei-Hsuan & Lin, Weizheng, 2024. "Environmental policy stringency and bank risks: Does green economy matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    29. Gu, Qinen & Li, Shaofang & Tian, Sihua & Wang, Yuyouting, 2023. "Climate, geopolitical, and energy market risk interconnectedness: Evidence from a new climate risk index," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    30. Song, Yuegang & Du, Chongmiao & Zhang, Xiaoyu & Song, Changqing & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2025. "Global value chain upgrading effects of the renewable energy product trade network: A dual perspective of dynamic evolution and non-linear effects," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    31. Peter M. Cox & Richard A. Betts & Chris D. Jones & Steven A. Spall & Ian J. Totterdell, 2000. "Erratum: Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model," Nature, Nature, vol. 408(6813), pages 750-750, December.
    32. Markus Baldauf & Lorenzo Garlappi & Constantine Yannelis & José Scheinkman, 2020. "Does Climate Change Affect Real Estate Prices? Only If You Believe In It," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1256-1295.
    33. Painter, Marcus, 2020. "An inconvenient cost: The effects of climate change on municipal bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 468-482.
    34. Fan, Wei & Yan, Ling & Chen, Boyang & Ding, Wangwang & Wang, Ping, 2022. "Environmental governance effects of local environmental protection expenditure in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    35. Yongming Huang & Lian Xue & Zeeshan Khan, 2021. "What abates carbon emissions in China: Examining the impact of renewable energy and green investment," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 823-834, September.
    36. Lin, Yangyi & Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong), 2024. "Climate policy uncertainty and energy transition: Evidence from prefecture-level cities in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    37. Peter M. Cox & Richard A. Betts & Chris D. Jones & Steven A. Spall & Ian J. Totterdell, 2000. "Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model," Nature, Nature, vol. 408(6809), pages 184-187, November.
    38. Qian Chen & Chuang Shen, 2024. "How FinTech Affects Bank Systemic Risk: Evidence from China," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 65(1), pages 77-101, February.
    39. Balvers, Ronald & Du, Ding & Zhao, Xiaobing, 2017. "Temperature shocks and the cost of equity capital: Implications for climate change perceptions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 18-34.
    40. Yin, Libo & Cao, Hong, 2024. "Understanding climate policy uncertainty: Evidence from temporal and spatial domains," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    41. Garbarino, Nicola & Guin, Benjamin, 2021. "High water, no marks? Biased lending after extreme weather," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    42. Curcio, Domenico & Gianfrancesco, Igor & Vioto, Davide, 2023. "Climate change and financial systemic risk: Evidence from US banks and insurers," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    43. Dai, Zhifeng & Zhang, Xiaotong, 2023. "Climate policy uncertainty and risks taken by the bank: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    44. Shilong Piao & Philippe Ciais & Yao Huang & Zehao Shen & Shushi Peng & Junsheng Li & Liping Zhou & Hongyan Liu & Yuecun Ma & Yihui Ding & Pierre Friedlingstein & Chunzhen Liu & Kun Tan & Yongqiang Yu , 2010. "The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7311), pages 43-51, September.
    45. Zhou, Fengxiu & Chen, Ming & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2025. "Impact of digital climate governance on carbon neutrality in China: A framework for carbon technological progress," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    46. Lee, Kiryoung & Cho, Juik, 2023. "Measuring Chinese climate uncertainty," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 891-901.
    47. Zhu, Yongbin & Shi, Yajuan & Wu, Jing & Wu, Leying & Xiong, Wen, 2018. "Exploring the Characteristics of CO2 Emissions Embodied in International Trade and the Fair Share of Responsibility," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 574-587.
    48. Ren, Xiaohang & Zhang, Xiao & Yan, Cheng & Gozgor, Giray, 2022. "Climate policy uncertainty and firm-level total factor productivity: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    49. Boyd, John H. & Graham, Stanley L. & Hewitt, R. Shawn, 1993. "Bank holding company mergers with nonbank financial firms: Effects on the risk of failure," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 43-63, February.
    50. Siyu Ren & Yu Hao & Haitao Wu, 2022. "How Does Green Investment Affect Environmental Pollution? Evidence from China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(1), pages 25-51, January.
    51. Fernando M. Aragón & Francisco Oteiza & Juan Pablo Rud, 2021. "Climate Change and Agriculture: Subsistence Farmers' Response to Extreme Heat," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 1-35, February.
    52. Hong, Harrison & Li, Frank Weikai & Xu, Jiangmin, 2019. "Climate risks and market efficiency," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 208(1), pages 265-281.
    53. Lucas, Edimilson Costa & Mendes-Da-Silva, Wesley, 2018. "Impact of climate on firm value: Evidence from the electric power industry in Brazil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 359-368.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Md Yousuf Ali & Naif Alsagr & Nicholas Apergis & Manirul Islam, 2026. "Climate Risk and Capital Resilience in EU Deposit‐Taking Financial Institutions: Insights Into Environmental and Cultural Dynamics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 3740-3759, March.
    2. Ali, Shoaib & Xiaoyang, Xu & Alharbi, Samar S. & Rasheed, Muhammad Shahid, 2025. "Financial markets and environmental risks: unveiling the impact of climate uncertainty," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Zhou, Mingtao & Ma, Yong, 2025. "Climate risk and predictability of global stock market volatility," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    4. Gong, Xu & Liao, Qin, 2024. "Physical climate risk attention and dynamic volatility connectedness among new energy stocks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    5. Zhe Zhai & Lin Chen & Longfeng Zhao & Yajie Yang & Ramiz ur Rehman, 2026. "Climate Risk and Systemic Risk: Insights from Extreme Risk Spillover Networks," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 25(1), pages 29-57, March.
    6. Venturini, Alessio, 2022. "Climate change, risk factors and stock returns: A review of the literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Le, Anh-Tuan & Tran, Thao Phuong & Mishra, Anil V., 2023. "Climate risk and bank stability: International evidence," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 70.
    8. Kakuho Furukawa & Hibiki Ichiue & Noriyuki Shiraki, 2020. "How Does Climate Change Interact with the Financial System? A Survey," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 20-E-8, Bank of Japan.
    9. Md Lutfur Rahman & Sudipta Bose, 2025. "Firm-level Climate Vulnerability and Corporate Risk-taking: International Evidence," Working Papers DP-2024-36, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    10. Xu, Xin & An, Haizhong & Huang, Shupei & Jia, Nanfei & Qi, Yajie, 2024. "Measurement of daily climate physical risks and climate transition risks faced by China's energy sector stocks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 625-640.
    11. Ren, Xiaohang & An, Yaning & Jin, Chenglu & Yan, Cheng, 2024. "Weathering the policy storm: How climate strategy volatility shapes corporate total factor productivity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    12. Yang, Junqi & Geng, Jiang-Bo, 2025. "Dissecting the financial impact of climate risk," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    13. Daewoung Choi & Yong Kyu Gam & Hojong Shin, 2023. "Environmental reputation and bank liquidity: Evidence from climate transition," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(7-8), pages 1274-1304, July.
    14. Zhou, Mingtao & Ma, Yong, 2025. "Physical vs. Transition climate risks: Asymmetric effects on stock return predictability," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    15. Pham, Linh & Kamal, Javed Bin, 2024. "Blessings or curse: How do media climate change concerns affect commodity tail risk spillovers?," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    16. Zhang, Wenzhe & Kong, Dongmin, 2025. "Climate risks and corporate leverage," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    17. Adriano Bellinvia & Paola Brighi & Valeria Venturelli, 2026. "Banks and climate risk: a bibliometric review and policy perspective," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(2), pages 1-29, June.
    18. Hao Dong & Tao Li, 2023. "Climate Economics and Finance: A Literature Review," Climate Economics and Finance, Anser Press, vol. 1(1), pages 29-45, November.
    19. Chen, Yiyang & Mamon, Rogemar & Spagnolo, Fabio & Spagnolo, Nicola, 2025. "Stock market returns and climate risk in the U.S," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    20. Wan, Yu-fan & Wang, Ming-hui & Wu, Feng-lin, 2025. "Greater fragility, greater exposure: A network-based analysis of climate policy uncertainty shocks and G20 stock markets stability," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:ijfiec:v:31:y:2026:i:2:p:1957-1978. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/1076-9307/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.