More than a hundred years before it got international recognition through a partnership with Rabobank, the credit union which became Sicredi was starting by the hands of Theodor Amstad in 1902 in Nova Petropolis, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The founder was a Swiss Jesuit who came from England in 1883 and was trying to spread a cooperative throughout German colonies in Brazil.
Amstad was against too much competition and more cooperation. The movement created by the religious leader generated over 50 credit unions in Rio Grande do Sul in the following decades – most of them focused on rural credit. However, strict regulations to sector created in 1965 killed most of this credit institutions throughout the 70’s.
Very few credit unions survived the crisis, but the one founded by Amstad and all others from a system called Raiffeisen had stayed in business. Then, they all decided to merge to become the Cooperativa Central de Crédito do Rio Grande do Sul (Central Credit Union of Rio Grande do Sul). In the following years, similar credit unions were created in Paraná. In 1989, the trend was spread out to the center-western states of Mato do Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.
Three years later Central Credit Union of Rio Grande do Sul branded itself as Sicredi unifying totally the rural credit unions in the state. Thus, in 1995 Sicredi received approval from the federal government to open the bank Sicredi becoming the first bank in Brazil owned by a credit union.
The credit unions from the state of Paraná acquired their share in the new bank in 1996. Some months later it was the time to Sicredi to merge with the credit union of Mato Grosso and to start the operations of the bank in the center-western state.
In 2000’s, the bank was already operating in the state of São Paulo. The group created a rural insurance and was authorized to provide credit cards and all types of rural credit. Sicredi was getting ready to play a major role in the Brazilian agriculture boom.
2001 was the year which China joined the World Trade Organization. It meant that Brazil was one of the countries capable to supply the Asian giant with soybeans, corn, wheat, and other sorts of commodities.
To be able to supply the Chinese, farmers needed to invest significantly in harvesters, tractors, land, and many other resources to increase the production and productivity. Sicredi was one of the institutions which participated actively in that process.
The bank’s loan portfolio reached nearly a billion dollars in 2005. in 2010, Rabobank purchased 30 percent share of Sicredi, what meant US$ 100 million more. In 2011, the bank had over US$ 10 billion in assets, 60,000 associates, 1,100 buereaus in 10 Brazilian states, and 119 credit unions. The company is regarded as one of ten best economic forecaster in Brazil.
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