The Caixa Econômica Federal (, Federal Savings Bank), also referred to as Caixa or CEF, is a state-owned Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Brasília, Brazil.[4] It is the fourth largest banking institution in Brazil, as well as the fourth largest in Latin America, and the eighty-third largest bank in the world. It is also the largest 100% government-owned financial institution in Latin America.
History
The bank was founded by Emperor Pedro II on 12 January 1861, as Caixa Economica 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 Econômica 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 (federal) lotteries and being the only lawful pawn broker in Brazil.[5]