CADE publishes study on banks and insurance markets

On 29 November, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) published the 20th edition of its series of studies, named Cadernos do CADE. The publication is about banks and insurance markets provided by financial institutions registered in the Central Bank of Brazil. The objective of the document is to present the steps of CADE’s reviews and the case law of the agency in the proceedings related to mergers and investigations of anticompetitive conduct in several sectors.   

The study is divided into four sections. It brings information on competition reviews in the bank services segment, in the strict sense, granting credit, resource management of third parties, bank correspondence, exchange rate, credit information, distribution of bonds and securities, investment assistance and capitalisation, insurance and reinsurance, and brokerage of insurance and reinsurance.  

According to the study, banks and insurance markets are essential for the Brazilian economy, as they ensure the requirements for the investment activities, consumption, and savings of individuals and firms. The development of the digital economy has caused significant changes in these markets, such as the emergence of fintechs and insurtechs.  

As stated in the publication, the innovation environment challenges the authorities of sectoral regulation and competition defence using innovation tools, such as regulatory sandboxes and the cooperation of authorities, as enabled by the Memorandum of Understanding between CADE and the Central Bank of Brazil. 

About Cadernos do CADE

First issued in 2014, Cadernos do Cade is a series of documents the Department of Economic Studies regularly publishes to consolidate, systematise, and disclose CADE’s case law related to a specific market—considering the market’s economic and competitive aspects. 

The study guides CADE towards its institutional mission of providing technical and practical knowledge and contributing to academic works related to antitrust matters. 

Access the case (in Portuguese only) at Caderno “Mercados de Bancos e Seguradoras”.