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This study aims to investigate the relationship between efficiency in cost management and the profitability of banking financial institutions in Brazil. The intermediation approach was used to estimate the efficiency in cost management of financial institutions, applying the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) method modeled with economic-financial indicators. To investigate the relationship between efficiency and profitability, a multiple linear regression model with panel data was fitted. The research sample is made up of 47 financial institutions classified as multiple, commercial and Caixa Econômica, and the period analyzed covers the years from 2008 to 2015. In view of the application of the econometric model, the existence of a direct and statistically significant relationship was identified between efficiency in the management of costs and the profitability of financial institutions, indicating that higher levels of efficiency in the management of costs are related to higher levels of profitability. The signals obtained for the coefficients of the research variable and the control variables corroborated the expectations based on the scientific literature. Thus, the findings indicate that efficiency in cost management is a determining factor to improve the profitability of the Brazilian banking system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]