Reestruturação bancária na nova economia: estudo de caso em cidades pequenas da metade sul do RS - Brasil

Abstract

In recent decades, the world has undergone several political, cultural, social and economic transformations. Among the economic changes, there is an increasing importance of innovation, knowledge and technology in economic activities. Several activities are impacted, among which are banking activities. The present work intends to investigate the causes and impacts of the closure of bank branches in small towns, investigating the case of five municipalities located in the southern half of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. For this, in the first chapter we address the methodological processes used in the present study. The methodology for the present study is divided into three parts: the first part consisted of the characterization of the selected municipalities, the second part deals with the analysis of quantitative data on banking services in the municipalities, finally, the third and last part of the methodology consisted of application of semi-structured interviews, analyzed using content analysis techniques. In the second chapters we address the impacts of globalization and the economic changes related to it. In the third chapter we discuss the existing definitions regarding small towns and also regarding the urban network. In the fourth chapter, we present the main technical and regulatory frameworks of the Brazilian banking system during the 20th century and up to the present day. In the fifth chapter, we present the characterization of the municipalities studied, the changes in banking services in the municipalities between 2012 and 2022, and also the vision of bank managers in municipalities and unions in the region regarding the bank restructuring process. From the present study, it was possible to verify that, in the view of the interviewees, bank branches are still important for small towns. Regarding the process of closing branches, most respondents believe that it is mainly related to the need for banks to reduce operating costs, in order to increase their profits.