Efficiency and profitability of development finance agencies

Abstract Development Finance Agencies (DFAs) carry out public investments and development policies. In Brazil, their main objective is to promote welfare, contribute to the states’ social and economic development, guarantee sustainability, and reduce regional and social inequalities. This descriptive research adopted a quantitative approach and aimed to analyze the efficiency and profitability levels of DFAs in Brazilian states. Standard indicators were used to analyze these agencies’ efficiency and profitability and median tests were conducted to verify whether the size of the agency influences the performance of the observed indicators. The sample consisted of 14 DFAs, in the period from 2012 to 2018. The results showed that larger DFAs tend to show an excellent efficiency level, while agencies with less infrastructure demonstrated regular and unsatisfactory efficiency. Also, DFAs with more significant total assets were more likely to present regular or unsatisfactory profitability. Finally, efficiency ratio (ER) and average return on credit operations (RCO) were identified as adequate indicators to analyze the DFAs’ performance.

开发金融机构（Development Finance Agencies, DFAs）负责开展公共投资与发展政策实践。在巴西，其核心宗旨为增进社会福祉、推动各州社会经济发展、保障可持续性，并缩小区域与社会发展差距。本描述性研究采用定量研究方法，旨在分析巴西各州开发金融机构的效率与盈利水平。研究采用标准指标对上述机构的效率与盈利情况进行分析，并通过中位数检验验证机构规模是否会对观测指标的表现产生影响。研究样本涵盖2012年至2018年间的14家开发金融机构。研究结果显示，规模较大的开发金融机构往往具备优异的效率水平，而基础设施较为薄弱的机构则表现出一般且不达标的效率状态。此外，总资产规模更高的开发金融机构更有可能呈现一般或不达标的盈利状况。最后，效率比率（efficiency ratio, ER）与信贷业务平均收益率（average return on credit operations, RCO）可作为分析开发金融机构运营表现的合适指标。