Banking innovation and digital transformation as catalysts of infrastructure financing: Evidence from Indonesian banking

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractDigital transformation in the banking sector increasingly determines the direction of financial intermediation, including infrastructure financing, which requires long-term commitment. This study analyzes the influence of digitalization, digital security, and banking product innovation on infrastructure financing. This study uses banking data from the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The data were sourced from published quarterly bank financial reports. The study uses 1,980 observations from the 2014–2024 period. The data are analyzed using panel data regression with a fixed-effects model. The results show that banking product innovation consistently has a significant positive impact on infrastructure financing. Innovation enables the development of new financing instruments, increases intermediation flexibility, and expands access to long-term funding sources – conversely, digitalization in banking yields contradictory findings. In the initial model, digitization had a positive effect on intermediation efficiency. However, the advanced model showed a significant negative impact, indicating a trade-off: short-term digital transaction efficiency can reduce banks' orientation towards long-term infrastructure project financing.AcknowledgmentsThe greatest appreciation is conveyed to the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, which has provided funding support for this research through a principal research grant with contract number 108/E5/PG.02.00.PL/2024. Thanks are also expressed to the Higher Education Service Institute (LLDIKTI) Region 6 and the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) Unisnu Jepara, Indonesia, for their continuous support and facilitation during the research process.