Desenvolvimento local e desempenho do cooperativismo de crédito: um estudo da Sicoob Credichapada

Abstract

Among the institutions that can induce local development are cooperatives. Credit unions are non-profit financial institutions that have goals and principles that can contribute to the development of the locality in which they operate. One of these credit unions has stood out in the State of Minas Gerais for its contributions to the community, the Sicoob Credichapada. Credichapada has been recognized for promoting various activities that benefit the locality in which it operates, such as the Cooperative, Entrepreneurial and Financial Education Program. The Education Program have been developed for the community and also in public schools, in the region where Credichapada is located. To a cooperative to develop these activities, the idea was that it would be necessary to present a good economic-financial performance, like the goal of this study, therefore: to relate the economic-financial performance to the social and economic impacts of Sicoob Credichapada in its area of operation. To achieve this, two models for measuring economic and financial performance were used: the PEARLS monitoring system and the Business Productivity Analysis. For the assessment of impacts, it were used interviews and unsystematic observation. With regard to Credichapada's economic and financial performance, it was found that, in general, it performs satisfactorily, but that it should pay attention to the increased risk of the credit portfolio in recent years, which is already been revised. Among the impacts of Credichapada in the locality, two aspects emerged: general impacts, focused on issues of economy, local trade, agriculture, among others - and impacts of the Education Program, covering the community in general and the school environment. Evaluating the Credichapada Technical, Educational and Social Assistance Fund (FATES), it was noted that, given the impacts found, the volumes spent are considered low in relation to the cooperative's equity. Thus, the research suggests that the actions that generate local development have not changed due to a worsening in the cooperative's performance, but it indicates attention, once an unsatisfactory and persistent result could harm the development of future actions. Thus, this research contributes to the literature on credit unions, especially with regard to the joint approach to local development and economic and financial performance of credit unions. From this study, stands out the importance of these financial institutions for the availability of resources to society, but also as an important local development agent.