On the Rise of FinTechs: Credit Scoring Using Digital Footprints
Organized by the Private Sector Development Research Network
Friday, 11th November 2022 from 9-10am EST
The paper that will be discussed analyzes the information content of a digital footprint—that is, information that users leave online simply by accessing or registering on a Web site—for predicting consumer default. The authors show that even simple, easily accessible variables from a digital footprint match the information content of credit bureau scores. A digital footprint complements rather than substitutes for credit bureau information and affects access to credit and reduces default rates. The authors discuss the implications for financial intermediaries’ business models, access to credit for the unbanked, and the behavior of consumers, firms, and regulators in the digital sphere.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Tobias Berg
Professor of Finance and Head of the Finance Department, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
Professor Berg’s research focuses on corporate finance and financial intermediation with a recent focus on financial technology and climate change. Tobias Berg serves as an Associate Editor at the Review of Financial Studies and he has frequently published in leading international journals such as the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, or Review of Financial Studies. He has received the Review of Financial Studies Distinguished Referee Award, was ranked among the Top 10 Economists in Germany, and was awarded a European Research Council Consolidator Grant for his work on Banking and Climate Change. Tobias Berg has won a best teaching award for his courses on corporate finance as well as a star lecturer award for his course on financial intermediation.
Watch full seminar here