The process of dismantling bank offices It has been gradual and unstoppable since the crisis of 2008. At that time the province of Castellón registered the historical maximum as far as the volume of bank branches is concerned, with a total of 684 in the whole of the Castellón regions, according to the statistics published on a quarterly basis by the Bank of Spain.
The coronavirus health pandemic This process has accelerated even more if possible and the number of banking entities in the whole of the province of Castellón has decreased by 10% in the time of Covid-19. Right now, the number of bank branches in the Castellón regions stands at 267, with data as of September 30, 2020, latest figures published by the Bank of Spain.
This figure is the lowest of the last 40 years in the province of Castellón. In fact, it is necessary to go back to 1977 -43 years ago-, to find a smaller number of bank branches in the province, since in that year the volume of entities was 266, one less than today.
Breath’s, the data for September 2020, evidence that in the last 12 months 30 branches have been closed of more banks in the province of Castellon, since in September 2019 the volume of stores was 297, details the Bank of Spain.
In addition, with respect to the historical maximum registered in terms of volume of offices in the province of Castellón, the current figure of 267 open stores represents a 60% recoil.
In this sense, it should be recalled that the maximum number of bank branch offices in the Castellón regions was registered at the end of September 2008, when there were 684 operations.
The gradual closure of bank branches is especially notable in the province of Castellón, which, together with Alicante, are among the provinces of Spain where there has been a higher percentage of entity closures since 2008, according to a recent report by the Spanish consultancy Tatum dated at the end of last September.
The number of commercial offices of financial institutions has decreased by 46% since 2009, which means 20,234 fewer branches, and it is expected that entities such as BBVA, CaixaBank, Bankia or Sabadell close more than 800 branches in the remainder of the year, which would represent around 3.4% of the network of large banks in Spain.
According to this report, the bank penetration index -ratio of offices per thousand inhabitants- has almost halved, going from 0.95 in 2009 to 0.51 in December 2019.
This reduction has meant that more than 4,000 Spanish municipalities -51.8% of the total- do not have access to any bank branch. Castellón, Alicante, AlmerÃa, Barcelona, Castellón, Gerona, Là © rida, Madrid, Orense, Palencia, Tarragona and Zaragoza are the provinces with the highest percentage of closures since 2008.
This adjustment has meant the loss of more than 86,255 employees, which is equivalent to a 32.8% reduction in the workforce. In addition, the report indicates that traditional branches have reinvented themselves through the use of new technologies to respond “to the needs of an increasingly demanding customer with immediacy, autonomy and transparency.” Thus, 47.1% of bank clients already operate with their entity via mobile phone at least once a week.
In this context, the report points out that the concentration in the banking sector will continue to accelerate in the face of the Covid-19 crisis and for profitability.
Furthermore, after the announced merger between CaixaBank and Bankia, this number will be reduced even more and the resulting entity will become the largest bank in the Spanish market and the tenth in the European Union by assets.
A sector in constant change
Concentration. Half of the banks have disappeared since the 2008 crisis (45% of those that existed). 159 entities no longer exist. Spain is the second country in which the banking sector in the entire European Union has concentrated the most, only behind the Netherlands, according to data from the Bank of Spain.
Mergers. During the current financial year 2021, with the mergers of Caixa-Bankia and BBVA-Sabadell, the big 4 will control more than 70% of the market. The sector has lost 100,000 employees in the last decade.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
