“…Furthermore, this process was followed by an increase in interest rates, which in one way were the result of more ample economic policies of the government, but in another could represent an increase in the mark-ups charged by banks as they increased their market power with concentration. It has been argued that the entire process had a negative impact on the economic system as a whole (Mendes, 1988).^°S ee Bouzan, 1973 andMendes, 1988. Banking concentration in the Brazilian economy was accentuated with the economic policies that had this aim. The process began after the Second World War as a consequence of the dispute for deposits by the existing banks.…”