The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Credit Scale of Commercial Banks

The digital transformation of banks has had a huge impact on the traditional credit system. This study aims to explore the impact of digital transformation on credit business and reveal its mechanism of action on credit scale. This paper takes 180 commercial banks across the country from 2011 to 2021 as the research object, considers the two mechanisms of operating efficiency and risk control ability, and empirically tests the intrinsic connection between bank digital transformation and credit scale based on the three dimensions of digital transformation. The study found that digital transformation has significantly promoted the expansion of credit scale, especially in the promotion effect of management and business digitalization. Mechanism analysis shows that digital transformation can positively affect credit scale by improving bank operating efficiency and strengthening risk control capabilities. Finally, the impact of digital transformation shows significant heterogeneity in bank characteristics. Non-state-owned and small and medium-sized banks have benefited significantly from the expansion of credit scale, while state-owned and large banks have not seen similar results. This study provides a new research perspective for optimizing the credit system and adjusting digital strategies.