Isha Agarwal, University of British Columbia

Research

fintech foreign banks technology adoption technology diffusion mobile banking Opacity discount Corporate bonds loan-bond spread

Latest funding

Economics of Independent Financial Advice: Pricing, Value, and Household Welfare
SSHRC · 2025 · Co-investigator
$116,020
Banks as Secret Keepers: Evidence from the Opacity Discount
SSHRC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$56,760
Cross-border financial technology diffusion: evidence from mobile banking
SSHRC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$69,500

All 4 grants and awards

Economics of Independent Financial Advice: Pricing, Value, and Household Welfare

Co-investigatorSSHRC2025Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Pikulina, Elena S.

$116,020

Banks as Secret Keepers: Evidence from the Opacity Discount

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Agarwal, Isha

Keywords: Opacity discount; Corporate bonds; loan-bond spread; Money creation; Secret keepers

$56,760

Cross-border financial technology diffusion: evidence from mobile banking

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Agarwal, Isha

Keywords: fintech; foreign banks; technology adoption; technology diffusion; mobile banking

$69,500

Cross-border financial technology diffusion: evidence from mobile banking

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Agarwal, Isha

Keywords: fintech; foreign banks; technology adoption; technology diffusion; mobile banking

$17,600

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Write to this professor

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Applying for

Mention their SSHRC grant from 2021

Subject: Prospective PhD student: fintech Dear Professor Agarwal, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. Your research on fintech connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Banks as Secret Keepers: Evidence from the Opacity Discount" (2021), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]