How credit unions affect the profitability of Brazilian commercial banks?

Abstract

We investigated the effects of the growth of credit unions, which by law are non-profit entities, on the return on assets and equity of Brazilian commercial banks. We also assess the impacts on commercial banks’ main revenue and expense lines. Data from 2000 to 2021 were used and dynamic panel models, System-GMM, were estimated. The results indicate that the greater the participation of credit unions, the greater the return on assets and equity of commercial banks. As for the impact on expenses, we noticed that the greater the participation of credit unions, the lower the expenses with funding by commercial banks. The results found bring a different perspective from what could be expected: the entry of a non-maximizing agent (credit unions) in a given market can reduce the profitability of the incumbent agents. Moreover, the relationship between commercial banks and credit unions can be one of complementarity and not substitutes. The results are robust for several specifications.