Financial Innovation: Online Lending to Households and Small Businesses

December 3, 2016

Federal Reserve Board, Washington, D.C.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is hosting a research and policy conference on Financial Innovation: Online Lending to Households and Small Businesses, to be held in Washington, DC on December 2, 2016. The purpose of the conference is to bring together academics, industry participants, and policymakers to discuss current academic research related to innovations in online lending and its implications for borrowers, traditional lenders, the macroeconomy, financial stability, and regulatory policy.

Please note that attendance at the conference is by invitation only, and capacity is limited.

Members of the media must register in advance to attend the conference.

Please direct all questions and correspondence, including paper submissions, to: [email protected].

For media inquiries, contact Joe Pavel in the Board's Public Affairs Office at 202-452-2955.

Organizing Committee:
Tim Dore, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Geng Li, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Traci Mach, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Adair Morse, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley
Robin Prager, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Stephen Zeldes, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University

Call for Papers

Topics: We invite the submission of high quality research papers in all areas related to online lending. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to:

  • The characteristics of online borrowers and lenders
  • The effects of online lending on the availability of credit to households and small businesses
  • Similarities and differences between online lenders and traditional lenders in areas such as underwriting and risk standards, production processes, technology, cost structure, and profitability
  • Competition and cooperation between online lenders and traditional lenders
  • The substitutability/complementarity of online lending and traditional lending
  • The implications of online lending for financial stability
  • New regulatory challenges posed by the emergence of online lending
  • Consumer protection and online lending

Paper Submissions: We welcome the submission of theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented papers. Authors should email completed papers to: [email protected] by September 16, 2016.

Papers will be reviewed and selected for presentation by the organizing committee. Authors whose papers have been accepted to the conference will be notified by October 14, 2016.

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Last Update: November 30, 2016