The configuration of the largest Brazilian banks' board of directors: trajectories and capitals of Latin America's financial elite

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the configuration of the board of directors of the five largest banks operating in Brazil, which are members of a financial elite that directly influences the socioeconomic life in Latin America.Design/methodology/approachThis assessment is inspired by Bourdieu's sociological approach and in the discussion on his work in organization studies and economic sociology. It addresses the organization as a field and investigates its associated field of power. The authors conducted qualitative research and relationally analyzed data related to the trajectory and the social properties of the councilors using the statistical technique called multiple correspondence analysis (MCA).FindingsThe results show that forms of social and cultural capital are particularly influential in the production of distinctions among banks' board members. Moreover, councils' priorities and configurations are diverse: some idealized and based on knowledge, others pragmatic and based on customs, others still anchored in a double logic of market satisfaction and family wealth preservation.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the objective power relations among these top agents may be crucial for effectively regulating certain aspects of their activities. Furthermore, understanding how different forms of capital affect the relative position of the board members may help us reduce representative bias in what seems today an inner circle.Originality/valueThis study is relevant because it makes an in-depth analysis of the composition of one of the most influential financial elites in Latin America, combining sociological theory and advanced statistical techniques for qualitative grouping (MCA).