The Effect of Fund Transfer Pricing on Brazilian Bank Branch Performance

Abstract

Financial institutions have implemented fund transfer pricing in response to demands from regulatory bodies to better manage their risk and as part of their cash-pooling strategies. For banks, implementing a fund transfer price causes a redistribution of income between the various bank branches depending upon the determined transfer price and the volume of resources demanded or offered by each branch. In this context, this study's objective is to examine the effect of the potential implementation of fund transfer pricing on the performance of Brazilian bank branches. This study examines and runs a linear regression of 21 years of monthly banking statistics (2000-2020), lists the most relevant factors contributing to interbranch transfer volume, and demonstrates how an interbranch transfer volume analysis determines the fund transfer price effect in the performance of bank branches. Contrary to the expectations of prior studies, the total volume of interbranch transfers between Brazilian bank branches for the period examined is not zero, which means that, on average, bank branches generate resources that are allocated to other parts of the bank that are not bank branches. This study finds evidence that branches short of funds may be financing their income with resources from branches with excess funds and that implementing funds transfer pricing does not have a null effect in Brazilian bank branches. On average, the branches' incomes increase. While implementing a price for the transfer of funds leads to an increase in the bank branches' average income, it is not necessarily the case that a greater number of bank branches will register an increase in their income. This evidence is important because it demonstrates that a bank's strategy regarding the supply or demand of interbranch resources should inform decisions on whether or not to implement a fund transfer pricing policy.