Eficiência e benchmarks de desempenho de cooperativas de crédito: evidências a partir do mercado brasileiro

Abstract

The cooperative form of organization of financial activities has presented itself as a valuable possibility for the organizational development of small and medium-sized entities. This research aims to analyze whether and to what extent the conditions of managed resources (utilized) influence the performance of Brazilian credit unions, using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). To this end, the Data Envelopment Analysis as a non-parametric model for performance evaluation was evidenced as a tool capable of evaluating efficiency in cooperative activities, specifically in the credit union sector. Thirty-five credit unions operating in Brazil were analyzed using the output-oriented DEA-BCC (VRS, Variable Returns to Scale) model and the DEAMalmquist model for four quarters of the year 2018. The results reveal that out of 35 Brazilian credit union systems, 11 credit unions were found to be always on the efficiency frontier and 3 credit unions were found to be always in the low efficiency range. Although, most of the analyzed credit unions are in high and medium level of efficiencies, a very large efficiency gap is found for some of them. The results also denote an average decrease of 1.1%; in the year 2018 in the productivity of the credit unions, from the analysis of the average of the Malmquist indices. It was found, for example, that three credit unions has obtained the highest total productivity growth in the sample, with 18%; 14.4% and 13.3% in 2018. Concerning the Change in Relative Position, of the 35 Brazilian cooperatives analyzed, only 12 worsened their relative position and 11 improved, with 12 credit unions maintaining their situation. Finally, the results also demonstrate that the Data Envelopment Analysis is a valuable technique for evaluating organizational performance in credit unions, supporting decision making.