In this beautiful spring time, the 2021 China Fintech Research Conference (CFTRC 2021) was successfully held on April 17 and 18 in Beijing. Sponsored by the Tsinghua University Institute for Fintech Research (THUIFR), the CFTRC 2021 was initiated by the Fintech Education and Research 50 Forum, co-organized by Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance (PBCSF) and over 30 peer schools and colleges. The Conference was held both online and onsite, attracting nearly 500 participants onsite and over 20,000 viewers online.

(Scene of the conference)

The CFTRC 2021 received 156 academic papers globally, 24 out of which were selected for presentation at the conference. The Paper Review Committee is made up of 69 well-known scholars at home and abroad, chaired by Zhang Xiaoyan, associate dean and Xinyuan chair professor of finance at PBCSF and Deputy Chair of THUIFR, Yu Jianfeng, Deputy Chair of THUIFR and Jiangshu chair professor of finance at PBCSF, Hou Kewei, professor at Fisher College of Business of the Ohio State University, Zhang Wei, professor at the College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Wang Shouyang, professor at the School of Economics and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), and Hong Yongmiao, research fellow at the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science (AMSS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Supported by high-level academic journals domestic and abroad, CFTRC 2021 attracted scholars from renowned institutions including Tsinghua University, the University of Chicago, and Cornell University. Outstanding papers will be submitted to the Management World and the Journal of Empirical Finance for anonymous referee.

Wang Zhengwei, secretary-general of the CFTRC 2021 and Associate Dean of PBCSF, presided over the conference. 

(Wang Zhengwei presides over the meeting) 

Liao Li, chairman of the CFTRC 2021, executive associate dean and chair professor of finance at PBCSF and director of IFR, delivered the opening speech, followed by the keynote speech by special guest He Zhiguo, professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 

(Liao Li gives the opening remarks) 

On behalf of the CFTRC committee, Liao Li extended sincere thanks to Management World and the Journal of Empirical Finance for their support and also to all online and onsite participants for their active engagement. He also shared his views on the important role of fintech development in academic research based on his interviews with over 20 Nobel Laureate scholars. 

He said that fintech development shows three distinctive features in academic research: 1. Characterized by large sample size, strong timeliness, and high granularity, fintech provides a lot of "new data", enabling the in-depth verification of the traditional economic theory. 2. Fintech adds to "new approaches" to academic research, including machine learning and text analysis. These new approaches can facilitate the processing of unstructured and high-dimensional data and can be used for economic analysis more effectively with large-scale random field experiments. 3. Fintech has resulted in new academic studies in emerging and traditional industries.

(He Zhiguo delivers the keynote speech) 

Based on his latest findings, He Zhiguo delivered a keynote speech titled "Investment in Credit Technology: Analysis on Banks' IT Expenditures". Taking the American bank credit market for example, he revealed that the proportion of American banks' expenditures on investment and research of credit technology has showed an overall rise over the last decade, especially among large banks. His analysis indicates that a large proportion of expenditures go to smart office software and communication infrastructure. In credit services, communication infrastructure can generate borrowers' information, while smart office software can help banks effectively process such information. Based on exogenous events of American laws and policies, He designed natural experiments and drew causal inference that such expenditures have positive effects on banking business, while different expenditures on investment and research has different impact on loan services.

There are four Chinese sessions and four English sub-sessions in CFTRC 2021, covering the latest fintech research in big data, machine learning, credit market, capital market, and banking technology and etc. During each session, presenters presented their latest findings in fintech and joined heated discussions with participating scholars. The conference was live-streamed online simultaneously via Xueshuo Platform, allowing the engagement of scholars and experts online.

(Scene of the Chinese session) 

(Scene of the English session)

The CFTRC 2021 aims to provide a high-quality academic communication platform for financial scholars and practitioners, and actively advance fintech research and exchanges on the latest development, in an effort to make contributions to global fintech innovation.

The Fintech Education and Research 50 Forum is initiated by PBCSF and IFR, and jointly established by fintech academic scholars and renowned schools and institutions at home and abroad. The Forum aims to promote the communication in fintech academic research and teaching pedagogy, fintech talent training, and healthy and sustainable fintech development.