Caixa Econômica Federal

Caixa Econômica Federal, also referred to as CAIXA, is a Brazilian bank, one of the largest government-owned financial institutions in Latin America. The bank was founded in January 12, 1861 as Caixa Econômica e Monte de Socorro in Rio de Janeiro as a financial institution destined to collect national savings, mostly from the poor. Over the years, several similar institutions were created until most of them were merged into present-day "Caixa" in... more

Caixa Econômica Federal, also referred to as CAIXA, is a Brazilian bank, one of the largest government-owned financial institutions in Latin America. The bank was founded in January 12, 1861 as Caixa Econômica e Monte de Socorro in Rio de Janeiro as a financial institution destined to collect national savings, mostly from the poor. Over the years, several similar institutions were created until most of them were merged into present-day "Caixa" in 1967. The 1970s were particularly lucrative for the bank, mostly due to its near-monopoly on savings for the poor and lower-middle classes, the management of Brazilian state lotteries and being the only lawful pawn broker in Brazil. In the 1990s, however, the scenario has changed and the bank underwent a serious downsizing, when thousands of employees lost their jobs. Part of the problem was caused by the modernisation of the Brazilian banking system in the 1980s, with many other banks introducing savings accounts to their portfolios,... less