Inclusão financeira e desempenho de cooperativas de crédito brasileiras

Abstract

Financial institutions play a crucial role in conducting financial intermediation and facilitating access to financial services in the market. With economic and social objectives, credit unions primarily prioritize the well-being of their members and the community, underscoring their significance in the financial intermediation process. In light of this, the thesis examines the characteristics of credit unions as economic organizations, utilizing economic and cooperation theories as a framework. The study explores these characteristics and investigates the interplay between the economic and social functions of cooperatives with financial inclusion, aiming to analyze the relationship between the financial and social performance of credit unions and financial inclusion in Brazilian municipalities. Building on theoretical aspects and a literature review, the study posits the following thesis: the social performance of Brazilian credit unions stimulates the process of financial inclusion, positively influencing the economic-financial performance of credit unions. To operationalize and study the phenomena, the methodological approaches involve proposing metrics for evaluating social performance and financial inclusion, while economic-financial performance variables from the PEARLS system are utilized. Initially, geospatial data analysis is conducted using mapping techniques to observe the behavior of financial inclusion across Brazilian territory. The joint analysis of the phenomena utilizes multilevel modeling, enabling evaluation at both the credit cooperative and municipal levels, considering a panel of data from 2016 to 2022. In summary, a general shift in the behavior of financial inclusion in the country is evident, with observed reductions from 2019 to 2022, indicating decreased availability and usage of financial services by the population served. Additionally, lower levels of financial inclusion are identified in the North and Northeast regions, emphasizing the need for policies targeting territories with inclusion deficiencies. Econometric results confirm the presented thesis. In general, the social performance of credit unions, mediated by the financial inclusion of the municipality in which they operate, is positively correlated with their economicfinancial performance. Credit unions with greater female participation among their members exhibit a reduction in credit portfolio risk and an increase in the efficiency of credit operations, profitability, and immediate liquidity. Conversely, those with a larger portion of retained social and statutory funds show lower efficiency in credit operations, decreased profitability on equity, and lower immediate liquidity, despite presenting better administrative coverage based on service provision income. The study contributes to the literature by proposing measures of social performance and financial inclusion and uncovering new relationships between the performance of credit unions and municipal financial inclusion. Furthermore, it innovates by employing multilevel modeling to address the relationship, providing more robust results. These findings can inform the implementation of inclusion policies and contribute to the development of the financial system, offering valuable insights for regulatory bodies and cooperative entities.