Banking, Money and Credits

Jean-Charles ROCHET * Professeur de banque, GFRI (Geneva Finance Research Institute), Université de Genève ; membre, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE). Contact : jeancharles.rochet@gmail.com.

Marianne VERDIER ** Chercheur, CRED (TEPP), Centre de recherches en économie et droit ; professeur d'économie, Université Paris II Panthéon Assas ; co-fondatrice, Chaire de recherche finance digitale. Contact : marianne.verdier@gmail.com.

The traditional business model of commercial banks exploits economies of scale between deposits and credit. New information technologies (Fintechs) and giant internet platforms (Bigtechs) are putting this model in serious jeopardy. Bigtechs even threaten the monetary sovereignty of states by potentially offering citizens of the world new currencies that are beyond the control of those states, such as Facebook's Global Stablecoin project Diem. This threat explains why many jurisdictions are seriously considering the creation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), so as discourage Fintech firms from creating new currencies. We analyze these upheavals and their foreseeable consequences and advocate for the development of a real public policy on payments.