The gap between the Financial Mathematics expressed in textbooks and that practiced in banks

Abstract

In this study, we aim to characterize the gap between the Financial Mathematics as expressed in textbooks and what is practiced in banking institutions. Three textbooks selected from public universities in the Brazilian state of Bahia were analyzed, and bank employees working in two banks in a city of the same state were observed. We noted different routines expected of participants in these two contexts, different problems faced and wide variation in the use of technology. Bank employees cope with client requests by interacting with bank systems in routines that include data selection to input into systems and the solution approach are organized around outputs as critical steps. However, this type of participation is also related to concerns about executing procedures with the security and agility required by the context’s social practice. By contrast, Financial Mathematics reified in textbooks indicates pseudo-realistic exercises involving routines that include selecting models and calculation procedures as critical steps with only marginal use of technology, such as calculators.