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Small and medium-sized enterprises and sustainable transition: Role of FinTech in a country's banking ecosystem

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  • Quintiliani, Andrea

Abstract

During the sustainable transition, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) request funding to support environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments. In particular, these requests clash with information asymmetries typical of the bank–firm relationship, causing SMEs to experience credit crunch phenomena or increased loan costs. This aforementioned phenomenon prompted this study to examine whether FinTech increases banks’ ability to support the development of SMEs aimed at achieving ESG or, better yet, sustainable transition goals. The results suggest that FinTech in a country’s banking ecosystem improves the ESG performance of Italian and British SMEs by addressing adverse selection and moral hazard issues. This study also shows a more pronounced effect in the UK banking ecosystem, which has a higher level of FinTech development and diffusion.

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  • Quintiliani, Andrea, 2025. "Small and medium-sized enterprises and sustainable transition: Role of FinTech in a country's banking ecosystem," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:73:y:2025:i:pa:s0275531924004185
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102625
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    FinTech; ESG; SME; Bank–firm relationship; Information asymmetry; Country’s banking ecosystem;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G2 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

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