Filenews 4 June 2022 - by TheanoThiopoulou
Hundreds of padlocks at bank branches and thousands of departures of bank employees have been recorded in recent years, according to new ECB data, which shows the rapid contraction in the physical presence of the banking sector. The phenomenon is not Cypriot but pan-European and indeed in some countries the decrease was much greater and continues during the year. The policy of "every neighbourhood and one branch from every bank", as we knew it at least until 2013, no longer exists and will not return. The number of branches of Cypriot banks decreased to 260 branches in 2021, from 282 in 2020 and 328 in 2019, i.e. in three years the banking network decreased by 26.15%. In 2017 the number of stores in Cyprus was 460 and the highest number, 1,016, is recorded in 1999, based on the available data, with the decline reaching 290.76% in 22 years. That is, 756 bank branches closed by 2021, a trend that continues into 2022.
The digital transformation, which moved at a strong pace in the last two years, and the reduction in personnel costs promoted by the banking business plans from 2013 onwards, resulted in the loss of thousands of bank employee positions. In 2021, the number of bank employees in Cyprus was 8,072, [up from 8,347 in 2020] down by 3.29% and is expected to decrease even more in the current two-year period, according to the intentions of the managements of the Bank of Cyprus and The Hellenic Bank. The largest number of bank employees in Cyprus, based on the available data up to 2019, was in 2012, reaching 12,853. In nine years, bank employees fell by 59.22%, with 4,781 employees leaving the profession. The number of bank branches that closed in the nine years was 590.
In Europe, the decline in the number of bank branches ranged from -0.2% to -22.93% in 20 of the 27 countries. The total number of bank branches in the EU at the end of 2021 was 138,294 and 82.56% of the branches were in the euro area. During 2021, the number of employees in credit institutions decreased in 21 EU Member States, with an average decrease of 0.85% in all countries. This decline in the number of bank employees is a trend observed in most countries since 2008.
The number of branches of Greek banks decreased to 1,560 from 1,702 in 2020 and 4,097 in 2008, which was the highest in more than 20 years. That is, within 13 years they have fallen by 62%. The number of bank employees decreased by 53% compared to 2008, which was the highest point. Specifically, it decreased to 30,998 from 33,097 in 2020 and 66,165 in 2008.
