The Brazilian Association of Banks (ABBC), which represents small and medium-sized banks, expressed concern this Wednesday (15) with the impacts of the cut in payroll interest from the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) on companies in the sector.
According to the Association, part of the market already operates offering credit at rates below the ceiling and with low profitability in the operation.
Thus, the reduction in rates from 2.14% per month to 1.70%, approved by the National Social Security Council this Monday (13), should make it impossible to grant money to the public, especially those who concentrate a higher risk of default, that is, those with lower incomes and the elderly, according to ABBC.
“The reduction brings risks to the continuity of its actions in this operation with the implementation of the new ceilings, which could result in market concentration in a few banks, harming competition in the provision of services to retirees, especially to the unbanked public” , says the entity.
ABBC predicts a new drop in loans, deepening the movement registered in recent years.
In 2020, BRL 104 billion were passed on to the INSS public, falling to BRL 56 billion last year, a level below that recorded in 2019, when BRL 78 billion were granted.
The entity claims that the new ceiling could generate a “significant deterioration” in the labor market in a scenario with more than 77 thousand companies that operate in the offer of payroll and 240 thousand professionals certified for the commercialization of credit.
“We believe that there will also be an impact on the performance of correspondents, responsible for approximately 50% of the origin of the borrowed amounts, providing assistance even in rural and difficult-to-access areas, areas not fully assisted by the banking network”, he says.
This week, the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) released a note in which it states that “the fixed interest levels do not support the cost structure of the product and the new ceilings have a high risk of reducing the supply of payroll loans, leading a public, lacking accessible credit options, to products that have more expensive rates in their structure (products without guarantees), as a considerable part is already negative”.
With information from Folha de S. Paulo