Abstract: Against the backdrop of better coordinating development and security, effectively preventing and resolving risks in key areas, financial technology provides new possibilities for regional financial risk governance. Based on the panel data from 31 provinces across the country from 2008 to 2022, this study empirically investigates the impact of financial technology on regional financial risks. The findings show that financial technology suppresses regional financial risks through the pathways of “stabilizing the economy”, “stabilizing finance”, and“preventing diffusion”. The intensity of financial regulation and the level of marketization both play a dual threshold effect between fintech and regional financial risks, and the impact of fintech on regional financial risks is influenced by two regulatory strategies:“tolerance”and“prudence”. Therefore, in the early stage of financial technology development, regulatory authorities should focus on improving the institutional system, promoting regulatory sandbox pilot projects, and increasing regulatory investment, and implement the regulatory strategy of “prudence over inclusiveness”. In the mid stage of financial technology development, regulatory authorities should take differentiated supervision and market-oriented regulation as the starting point, and implement the regulatory strategy of “tolerance greater than prudence”. In the later stage of financial technology development, regulatory authorities should fully leverage the power of the government and the market, and implement a regulatory strategy that emphasizes both inclusiveness and prudence.

Key words: financial technology, regional financial risks, financial regulation, marketization level, regulatory strategy