Banks last year recorded the highest volume of business per branch so far, thanks in part to a recovery in profitability after interest rate rises and, above all, to the fact that there are fewer and fewer branches, so customer activity is concentrated in fewer physical offices.
Each branch in Spain manages an average of 184 million euros per year, a figure that exceeds by 15% that of 2021 and above not only that before the pandemic, but the entire historical series to date. The start of interest rate hikes has accelerated the trend.
According to Alvarez
The average is smaller among old savings banks, which have a more extensive network of branches than traditional banks. CaixaBank moves 169 million euros per office, Abanca, 145 million; Kutxabank, 136 million; Unicaja, 134 million, and Ibercaja, 79 million.
At the end of 2022 there were 13,800 bank branches in Spain, 10% less than a year earlier and well below the more than 40,000 that existed before the crisis of 2008. The pandemic and the latest bank mergers have intensified the reduction of the network, which has now been reduced by 28% in relation to that of the first quarter of 2020.
CaixaBank is by far the bank with the most branches at present, with 4,081, compared to Santander’s 1,913 and BBVA’s 1,886. Sabadell has 1,228; Unicaja, 969, and Ibercaja, 894.
In addition to the reduction in branches, last year there was a strong increase in business encouraged by the rise in interest rates, which has also increased profitability per office.
At the end of last year, Spanish offices had 1.17 billion euros in loans, 1.7% more than a year earlier and 10.3% more than before the start of the pandemic. In deposits, they had 1.37 trillion euros, 4.5% more than at the end of 2021 and 20% more than before covid.
“The volume of business per branch continued to increase last year due to the reduction in the number of offices and the increase in the performance of credits and deposits”, assures Alvarez in his report
The reduction in the number of offices and face-to-face services is one of the main reasons for concern for users. The Central Government has reached agreements with the bank to improve care in rural areas and for the elderly.
