ABA Names Recipient of Inaugural Banking Research Dissertation Grant

The American Bankers Association today announced Gene Kang as the recipient of its inaugural ABA Banking Research Dissertation Grant. The program provides economics or finance doctoral graduate students with $40,000 for one academic year to conduct research on the banking industry. 

Kang is a finance doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. His research is titled “Which Branches Survive? Feature-Level Digital Adoption and Branch-Level Product Specialization.” The project will examine how specific banking app features influence bank branch decisions and how these effects vary by branch product specialization. This will allow for a more granular analysis of when digital tools substitute for—or complement—physical banking. Kang’s research will also investigate how changes in bank capital regulation affect bank service delivery via digital tools or physical access.

“The ABA Banking Research Dissertation Grant was conceived to support cutting-edge research that will help banks enhance service to their customers and communities,” said Sayee Srinivasan, ABA chief economist. “We are excited to see the impact Gene’s novel research on digital banking tools will have on our industry in the months ahead.” 

ABA will begin accepting applications for the 2026 ABA Banking Research Dissertation Grant in spring 2026. Applicants for the grant must be enrolled in an economics (including business economics and agricultural economics) or finance doctoral program at an accredited college or university and have completed the required preliminary graduate coursework. Eligible research topics include the general business of banking, central bank liquidity facilities, small business lending, consumer banking including residential mortgages, agricultural lending, interbank/wholesale funding, banking and climate change, payments (e.g., debit & credit cards, stablecoins, fin-tech or alternate payment offerings), and financial stability. 

Learn more about the ABA Banking Research Dissertation Grant Program.