Digital transformation and financial resilience of rural commercial banks: an empirical analysis based on panel data from 2013 to 2023

Rural commercial banks (RCBs) are key financial service providers in rural China, and enhancing their financial resilience is critical for overall financial stability. Using 2013–2023 panel data, this paper constructs a financial resilience measure for RCBs and employs a fixed-effects model to examine the impact of digital transformation on their resilience. Results show that digital transformation significantly improves RCBs’ financial resilience, especially in economically developed regions, areas with unstable climate policies, and those with weaker financial competition. Mechanism analysis reveals that digital transformation strengthens resilience by improving deposit stability, while unstable monetary policies, stringent regulation, and high loan concentration weaken it. Therefore, future efforts should promote RCBs’ digital transformation, foster a stable macroeconomic policy environment, implement differentiated regulation aligned with digitalization, and integrate digital technologies into risk management. Optimizing asset structures will solidify RCBs’ financial resilience and support sustainable agricultural development.