What Can Explain the Recent Adoption of Correspondent Banking by Credit Unions in Brazil?

Abstract

Credit Unions (CU) represent a particular non-capitalist alternative to promote financial inclusion and local development. Correspondent banking (CB) have proved to be a channel that gets closer to the underserved by the traditional financial system. The recent adoption of the CB channel improves CU outreach and thus could expad their ability to promote financial inclusion. This study investigates the recent expansion of CB networks controlled by CU, questioning the potential of this new organizational model for financial inclusion.