Characteristics Pertinent to the Ombudsman’s Offices: Evidence in Banks in Brazil

Brazilian regulations determined from the 2nd half of 2007, the establishment of the ombudsman’s offices as an organizational component of banks giving them authority to mediate conflicts. The objective of this study is to identify the characteristics pertinent to the ombudsman’s offices of 26 banks operating in Brazil. Parallel to that it is sought to verify whether these characteristics showed significant differences in the analyzed period, from January 2008 to June 2011, and met or exceeded the regulatory forecast. A descriptive study is carried out, one that includes literature review and documentary research, analyzing the content of public documentation regarding the ombudsman’s offices. The non-probabilistic sample was based on the ‘50 Largest Banks’ report of the Central Bank of Brazil, June 2011. The analyses employed 2 items (‘Characteristics of Management’ and ‘Characteristics of Corporate Governance’) and 19 sub-items based on literature review and expert opinion on the items and sub-items. Non parametric tests were employed in the analyses. From the 494 observations on the sub-items, the main results show that the item ‘Characteristics of Management’ has 67.09% of sub-items present, and the item ‘Characteristics of Corporate Governance’ has 70.77% of sub-items present. There were no significant differences between the percentages of sub-items associated with these two items, and among the sub-items present, those which meet the regulatory forecast prevailed. The study can subsidize reflections of academics, regulators, customers, users and other stakeholders in the characterization of the ombudsman’s offices, and can help to understand the influence of regulation on the disclosure of ombudsman’s offices in banks in Brazil.