Competition in Retail Banking Services in Latin America
This paper analyzes competition in the retail banking markets in Latin America. Retail banking services, that is banking products and services for consumers and small businesses, including deposit accounts and related services such as ATMs, direct...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/804881599637618906/Competition-in-Retail-Banking-Services-in-Latin-America http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34444 |
| Summary: | This paper analyzes competition in the
retail banking markets in Latin America. Retail banking
services, that is banking products and services for
consumers and small businesses, including deposit accounts
and related services such as ATMs, direct debit and credit
transfers, and credit lines, are an increasingly important
segment of the banking business in the region. Yet the
provision of banking services in Latin America remains very
expensive by international comparison. While many factors
contribute to high costs of financial intermediation in the
region, restricted or distorted competition may be an
important supply-side driver. Based on a survey with
competition authorities and financial regulators in seven
large Latin American economies (LA-7) combined with publicly
available data and information, this paper attempts to shed
light on entry and contestability in retail banking services
in the region, including access to the financial
infrastructure, payments systems and credit reporting
systems (CRSs), while discussing the status of competition
law enforcement and advocacy initiatives. Given limited
antitrust enforcement and advocacy initiatives in the field
of retail banking in LA-7, the objective of the paper is to
advance knowledge on the status of competition in the retail
banking segment while stimulating further country-product
specific analysis. |
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