Frankfurt More and more bank branches are being closed in Germany due to advancing digitization and cost pressure. According to the Bundesbank, the number of branches fell by almost ten percent last year to 21,712.
In total, just under 2390 branches were closed in 2021, compared with around 2570 in 2020, which also represented a drop of just under ten percent. According to the central bank’s assessment, the development reflects increased use of online banking as well as cost-cutting measures. More and more consumers are carrying out their banking transactions essentially electronically, increasingly also via smartphone apps.
Recently, the European Central Bank published a study showing that branch reductions in Germany were minimal in 2021. The Bundesbank’s fresh figures now show a different picture.
However, there is also a figure in the Bundesbank’s statistics that is surprising and pushes the total number of branch closures upward: According to the Bundesbank, the number of branches at the major banks fell by almost 22 percent, specifically by 1100 to 4037. Deutsche Bank alone reduced its branch network by almost 870 to around 3120 locations, according to the Bundesbank survey.
Banks in Germany Bundesbank Savings Banks Postbank
This classification had already caused confusion last year: the central bank also counts certain parcel stores among the branches of Deutsche Bank, which includes Postbank, which explains the high total number. The Bundesbank refers to them as partner branches of the former Deutsche Postbank.
These are kiosks and other small stores that, as partners of Deutsche Post, also accept parcels, for example, and on top of that pay out money to Postbank customers or accept transfers. The vast majority of the branch closures registered by the Bundesbank at Deutsche Bank are likely to be due to these mini-shops – which are hardly noticed by most customers.
According to its own figures, Deutsche Bank has eliminated around 100 branches in 2021, and Postbank 60, as they explained when asked. They do not count the parcel stores.
Bundesbank urges further mergers
At the savings banks, around seven percent of branches were eliminated last year. The Bundesbank now counts 7732 branches. At the Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken, 7150 branches were now registered, six percent fewer than a year earlier.
The number of independent credit institutions fell significantly by 160 to 1519 institutions. However, the Securities Institutions Act, which came into force in mid-2021, also played a role. Under this Act, 59 former securities trading banks and branches of foreign securities trading companies are no longer considered credit institutions within the meaning of the German Banking Act.
Excluding this effect, however, the decline was still six percent compared with a minus of only around two percent in 2020. A total of 45 mergers in the cooperative sector contributed to this. In addition, there were 43 disposals, mainly branches of British securities trading banks due to Brexit.
As the savings banks and Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken each define their business areas on a regional basis, there are a comparatively large number of credit institutions in Germany. As of the end of 2021, there were around 370 savings banks and 770 cooperative banks.
“In view of the looming clouds in the banking sky due to the turnaround in interest rates, weakening growth and inflation, banks are well advised to further increase their resilience through cost awareness and, if necessary, mergers,” warned Joachim Wuermeling, the Bundesbank board member responsible for banking supervision.
In his view, the significant decline in the number of institutions and branches is a sign of the continuing momentum of consolidation and restructuring in the German banking system.
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Frankfurt More and more bank branches are being closed in Germany due to advancing digitization and cost pressure. According to the Bundesbank, the number of branches fell by almost ten percent last year to 21,712.
In total, just under 2390 branches were closed in 2021, compared with around 2570 in 2020, which also represented a drop of just under ten percent. According to the central bank’s assessment, the development reflects increased use of online banking as well as cost-cutting measures. More and more consumers are carrying out their banking transactions essentially electronically, increasingly also via smartphone apps.
Recently, the European Central Bank published a study showing that branch reductions in Germany were minimal in 2021. The Bundesbank’s fresh figures now show a different picture.
However, there is also a figure in the Bundesbank’s statistics that is surprising and pushes the total number of branch closures upward: According to the Bundesbank, the number of branches at the major banks fell by almost 22 percent, specifically by 1100 to 4037. Deutsche Bank alone reduced its branch network by almost 870 to around 3120 locations, according to the Bundesbank survey.
Banks in Germany Bundesbank Savings Banks Postbank
This classification had already caused confusion last year: the central bank also counts certain parcel stores among the branches of Deutsche Bank, which includes Postbank, which explains the high total number. The Bundesbank refers to them as partner branches of the former Deutsche Postbank.
These are kiosks and other small stores that, as partners of Deutsche Post, also accept parcels, for example, and on top of that pay out money to Postbank customers or accept transfers. The vast majority of the branch closures registered by the Bundesbank at Deutsche Bank are likely to be due to these mini-shops – which are hardly noticed by most customers.
According to its own figures, Deutsche Bank has eliminated around 100 branches in 2021, and Postbank 60, as they explained when asked. They do not count the parcel stores.
Bundesbank urges further mergers
At the savings banks, around seven percent of branches were eliminated last year. The Bundesbank now counts 7732 branches. At the Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken, 7150 branches were now registered, six percent fewer than a year earlier.
The number of independent credit institutions fell significantly by 160 to 1519 institutions. However, the Securities Institutions Act, which came into force in mid-2021, also played a role. Under this Act, 59 former securities trading banks and branches of foreign securities trading companies are no longer considered credit institutions within the meaning of the German Banking Act.
Excluding this effect, however, the decline was still six percent compared with a minus of only around two percent in 2020. A total of 45 mergers in the cooperative sector contributed to this. In addition, there were 43 disposals, mainly branches of British securities trading banks due to Brexit.
As the savings banks and Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken each define their business areas on a regional basis, there are a comparatively large number of credit institutions in Germany. As of the end of 2021, there were around 370 savings banks and 770 cooperative banks.
“In view of the looming clouds in the banking sky due to the turnaround in interest rates, weakening growth and inflation, banks are well advised to further increase their resilience through cost awareness and, if necessary, mergers,” warned Joachim Wuermeling, the Bundesbank board member responsible for banking supervision.
In his view, the significant decline in the number of institutions and branches is a sign of the continuing momentum of consolidation and restructuring in the German banking system.
Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)