In partnership with the Brazilian Federation of Consulting and Training Companies (Febraec), Unicamp held this Thursday (21) the event "Innovations, Technology and Disruptive Rules in the National Financial System". Throughout the presentations, participants discussed the current Brazilian and international scenario of the financial system and how the growth of digital banks and fintechs can contribute to the challenges of the financial market, giving it more dynamism and offering consumers new credit opportunities.
Participating in the opening of the event were the rector of Unicamp, Marcelo Knobel; the president of Febraec, Rodnei Domingues; the secretary of economic, social and tourism development of Campinas, André Von Zuben; and Wagner Barbosa, councilor of Limeira. The opening speech was given by Henrique Meirelles, former president of the Central Bank under the Lula governments (2003-2010) and former Minister of Finance under Michel Temer (2016-2018) and current Secretary of Finance and Planning of the State of São Paulo. The meeting also featured lectures given by businesspeople and leaders in the financial sector.
In his presentation, Meirelles recalled the experiences he had leading BankBoston, in the United States, comparing not only the structure of the North American financial system with the Brazilian one, but also the economic culture of the two countries. According to the secretary, the Brazilian system is conservative, one of the causes that lead to one of the sector's main challenges to be resolved, which is the high banking concentration. According to data of 2018 by the Central Bank, the five largest banks concentrated 81,2% of the country's assets. According to Meirelles, the dispersion of banks and smaller financial institutions, as occurs in the United States, combined with a scenario of lower interest rates, can also help reduce the banking spread, which is the difference between the interest charged to customers by banks and the cost paid by them for financial transactions. This banking concentration, combined with high consumer default rates, makes the Brazilian spread one of the highest in the world.
Meirelles states that the market's use of new digital technologies causes the phenomenon of financial disintermediation, offering customers more options for banks and digital companies that offer credit and investment opportunities at lower interest rates, competing directly with large banks. "This is advancing a lot and allows, in the future, for a great expansion of credit and a very large drop in the spread and costs. This is a general trend, nowadays people take transport on their cell phones, order food, listen music, shopping, watching movies, series. Almost half of the Brazilian population already has access to smartphones. All of this is advancing more and more, which includes digital banks", analyzes the secretary.
According to him, the participation of fintechs in granting credit in the country rose from 5% in 2013 to 38% in 2018, while the share represented by large banks fell from 40% to 28% in the same period, due to the diversification of the number of actors participating in the investment market. information Map of Fintechs in Brazil, prepared by Finnovation, shows a 34% growth in the sector between 2018 and 2019. However, he warns that ensuring the security of customer data tends to be a new concern for these financial institutions.
"Everything I achieved in life was through education"
Meirelles also highlighted that this new sector creates a great demand for highly specialized professionals, who develop applications and other digital resources and who know how to interact with the financial market. Therefore, he states that universities are fundamental for technological innovation and the development of the regions around them. "The countries that will be at the forefront of technology in the world of this new market will be those that have a better availability of the educational system to provide professionals to participate in this sector. It is no coincidence that Silicon Valley, where the entire internet market was developed and technology, be in California, next to Stanford University. This shows the great synergy that exists. All of this is what will certainly tend to happen in the Campinas region with Unicamp", comments the secretary.
He also announced that the State government should invest in the creation of shared workspaces aimed specifically at the creation of fintechs and digital companies in the financial sector. The first will be in the capital of São Paulo, followed by other locations with the same potential. "São Paulo is the country's financial center, represents around a third of the national economy and is the largest consumer market. That's why it is increasingly hosting this large market. Most fintechs are located in São Paulo, the government of the state is creating an area next to the IPT where it will be a large center for the development of fintechs, with the support of the development secretariat, of Fatecs. There will be incentives for development there in São Paulo and we are starting to study this in the region as well of Campinas, which I think has enormous potential", reveals Meirelles.
Professor at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering (QEF) and former director of the Unicamp Innovation Agency (Inova), Milton Mori was responsible for organizing the event. He comments that the university has a tradition in creating companies and developing new products and patents and that this potential can also be used for the financial system. "The potential is very great, several banks and fintechs are entering the field. There are several students working in this area, the applications are immeasurable, there is a lot of ground to cover", admits Milton.
