Descrição
Since the middle of the last decade, fintechs have represented a new
alternative for financial solutions for Brazilian consumers. Technological advances,
added to the increase in connectivity through the spread of smartphones and
expansion of internet access, have made access to financial services provided by
fintechs favorable. As shown in this study, the Brazilian banking market is
oligopolistic. In an oligopoly, increased competition may imply an increase in
efficiency, thus reducing extraordinary profits and bringing an increase in economic
well-being to society. Thus, this study pursued to analyze whether the arrival of
fintechs represents an increase in competition and, consequently, a reduction in the
price of financial services for the consumer. The focus of this research was on credit
fintechs and their impact on reducing the cost of credit in Brazil. To meet this
purpose, this study analyzes the evolution of the total balance disbursed by credit
fintechs and the Credit Cost Index released by the Central Bank of Brazil. The
balance of credit disbursed by fintechs is still not very representative compared to the
volume disbursed by traditional banking institutions, demonstrating how these
alternatives are still incipient in the face of this oligopolistic banking market. The
present study observed that over the last half of the previous decade the cost of
credit in Brazil has reduced, however, this fall is mostly linked to reductions in the
cost of funding and a lower default rate. The remuneration of financial institutions for
credit operations entered into over the observed period increased, indicating that the
effect of the participation of fintechs in credit cannot yet be perceived, as verified the
inexpressiveness of the credit balance of fintechs in the total credit of the largest
Brazilian banks.
