This study is the first in a decade to provide an overview of banking in Brazil. It is argued that the big three federal banks have long provided essential policy alternatives and, since the liberalization of the industry in the 1990s, have realized competitive advantages over private and foreign banks. Based on archival research and extensive analysis of recent bank performance, the case studies – a commercial investment bank, a savings bank and a development bank – reveal an unacknowledged aspect of Brazilian development and the unexpected reform and modernization of these large financial institutions in contemporary Brazil.

"'definitively the most comprehensive study of the recent history of banking in Brazil.'"