Banks that operate more like fintechs outcompete their more traditional competitors on certain financial products, researchers at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. found. The study used a new measure of technology adoption at banks to look at Paycheck Protection Program loan volumes in the second quarter of 2020. Banks in the top 15% for tech adoption made more loans than similarly sized competitors by 9 percentage points — and they gained customers outside their usual markets more often, the data showed. The findings prove the importance for community banks of adopting technologies fintechs use, such as cloud computing and online loan applications. In responding to the findings, analysts say banks that have not integrated those technologies should devise a strategy for doing so.