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.