Concentración y competencia: El caso de la banca privada y las cooperativas financieras ecuatorianas

Abstract

Abstract: This study addresses the dimensions of competition and concentration through the use of the IHH, CR3 and Lerner indicators to try to obtain an approximation to the type of market structure in which both national private banks and Ecuadorian segment 1 financial cooperatives operate. In the analysis period between 2015 and 2019, the asset and liability accounts, obligations with the public and the loan portfolio, both general and by its segments, were considered. It is concluded that there is not a single type of market that predominates in any of the study sectors since both the concentration and the market structure vary according to the type of account and especially the credit segment that is analyzed in such a way that monopoly was evidenced in the productive and educational credit portfolios and a greater concentration was found in bank accounts than in cooperatives, as well as a deconcentration in bank accounts over the years. Low levels of concentration and high competition were also found in some of the cooperative accounts.