We investigated the effects of the growth of credit unions, which by law are non-profit entities, on the return on assets and equity of Brazilian commercial banks. We also assess the impacts on commercial banks’ main revenue and expense lines. Data from 2000 to 2021 were used and dynamic panel models, System-GMM, were estimated. The results indicate that the greater the participation of credit unions, the greater the return on assets and equity of commercial banks. As for the impact on expenses, we noticed that the greater the participation of credit unions, the lower the expenses with funding by commercial banks. The results found bring a different perspective from what could be expected: the entry of a non-maximizing agent (credit unions) in a given market can reduce the profitability of the incumbent agents. Moreover, the relationship between commercial banks and credit unions can be one of complementarity and not substitutes. The results are robust for several specifications.

我们调查了信用合作社（依法属于非营利实体）的发展对巴西商业银行资产和股本回报率的影响。我们还评估了对商业银行主要收入和支出项目的影响。使用 2000 年至 2021 年的数据并估计动态面板模型 System-GMM。研究结果表明，信用社参与度越高，商业银行的资产和股本回报率就越高。至于对费用的影响，我们注意到信用社参与度越高，商业银行融资的费用就越低。发现的结果带来了与预期不同的观点：非最大化代理人（信用合作社）进入特定市场可能会降低现有代理人的盈利能力。此外，商业银行和信用社之间的关系可以是一种互补关系，而不是替代关系。结果对于多种规格来说都是稳健的。