Physical presence contributes to effective financial inclusion, points out Sicredi study

The Effectiveness of Cooperativism

A study showed that physical presence remains important for the effective financial inclusion of the population

Manaus (AM) – To analyze the relevance of physical assistance for full financial inclusion, Sicredi prepared the study called “The Effectiveness of Cooperativism”, from the series “Benefits of Credit Cooperativism”. For the investigation, 235 municipalities served by Sicredi that do not have branches of other financial institutions were selected and a data sample between 2018 and 2021 was analyzed. In total, there were more than 1.8 million observations, which represent, on average, 229 thousand associates per period.

With operations in all regions of the country, in a network of more than 2,500 branches in 1,800 municipalities, Sicredi found that physical presence remains important for the effective financial inclusion of the population, even in the current context of growing scanning. When evaluating the behavior of associates who now have a branch in their municipality, the survey revealed that the average use of products grows 25% in two years, when compared to active associates in municipalities without physical service. After five years, each associate is now served with an average of seven financial products.

“The research team was able to isolate Sicredi’s impact on the community, as well as the comparative effects between the presence and absence of an agency. We believe that proximity is a relevant factor in building mutual trust and providing adequate advice, contributing to these results”, explains André Nunes de Nunes, Chief Economist at Sicredi. The study was carried out jointly with researcher Juliano Assunção, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), specialist in Applied Microeconomics and Economic Development.

The relationship and the promotion of financial education activities are factors that appeared to be relevant for the personal financial organization, considering the increase in the number of associates with resources applied over the time of the relationship. The survey showed that 33% of members keep resources in savings already at the time of joining, while 13% invest resources in time deposits. After 10 years of relationship, these rates increase, respectively, to 51.2% and 49.4%.

Also according to Nunes, financial products can be complex for the population, which reinforces the role of proximity and assistance in the process of financial inclusion, aspects widely promoted by credit unions.

“Studies released by the Central Bank, such as Global Findex, show the growth of people with a bank account, but we still have a significant portion with difficulty using services and having access to more complex products. In this sense, cooperatives contribute to effective banking, enabling members to access services that go beyond the current account, being served by Sicredi with personalized solutions within a broad portfolio of credit, investments, consortiums, insurance and others”,

explains.

Another result exposed by the work is that the PJ public tends to make more financial reserves through investments throughout the relationship. In the first six months, 16.5% of associates make this type of financial investment, a percentage that doubles after two years, reaching 33.7% and increasing to 53.6% in the following years.

The number of associates who use the service doubles after one year of relationship and grows by more than 200% after two years, gaining relevance at an accelerated rate in later periods. The relationship is particularly relevant for the small rural producer, who now has technical assistance for credit products originated by government programs. In this way, the physical channel promotes discovery and access to products that are more suitable for investing in and funding their crops.

The study also used data from the Credit Information System, managed by the Central Bank, and found that the inclusion promoted by the work of credit unions in underserved municipalities allowed access to greater volumes of credit during the association period.

“The impact of the cooperative is not only competition with other players to grant credit to people and companies, but expansion of access to credit through knowledge of profiles and needs and, therefore, we reinforce that the proximity favored by the physical channel continues relevant to full access to financial services”,

concludes Nunes.

*With advisory information

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