Cooperativas de Crédito: taxas de juros praticadas e fatores de viabilidade

Abstract

This paper aims to compare the interest rates charged by credit unions and banks (commercial and multiple) in order to check whether there are differences between the rates charged for loans without personal assignment and the effects of this difference in interest rates charged by banks in similar operations. The results show that although the rates charged by credit unions are significantly lower there is no evidence that competition from credit unions make sufficient pressure to reduce the rates charged by banks on the personal assignment credit lines. We also found results that show that credit unions tend to be installed in rural areas with lower homicide rates, lower population density, high quality of the judiciary system and a great number of households with income between half and three minimum wages per capita, i.e., places where there are signs of high social capital.