Banking in Brazil: Structure, Performance, Drivers, and Policy Implications

he objective of this paper is to analyze the industry structure of banking services in Brazil in order to shed light on financial performance and its drivers at a disaggregated level. The study illustrates how differences across market segments -- which tend to be averaged out in aggregate analysis -- need to be taken into account when analyzing performance and designing public policy for the banking sector. In particular, retail banking is found to be less sensitive to price competition and to exhibit considerably higher returns than corporate banking. The authors identify and discuss the factors underlying revenues, costs, and risks in each market segment, and conclude with policy implications.