Does bank digitalisation reduce corporate agency costs? Evidence from China

This paper explores the impact of bank digitalisation on corporate agency costs. The findings show that: (i) bank digitalisation significantly reduces agency costs by improving banks' monitoring capabilities; (ii) financial regulation further lowers agency costs for firms engaging with more digitised banks; and (iii) the effect between bank digitalisation and corporate agency costs is weaker in state-owned enterprises and those with short-sighted management, but stronger in firms with greater financing constraints and shorter listing durations. These results provide new evidence of bank digitalisation's positive impact on the real economy and highlight the benefits of financial regulation in China.