In-person access to banking services continues to decline in Spain due to the persistent closure of branches. However, the good news is that the deployment of ‘ofibuses’, banking agents and other alternatives offsets the trend in smaller municipalities, where, on the other hand, their inhabitants do not connect with this type of solutions.
These conclusions are part of the annual monitoring report on this type of accessibility published this Thursday by the Bank of Spain, which corroborates a trend that seems unstoppable: the number of bank branches decreased by 7.2% last year, from 19,014 to 17,648, and the decline was greater in the smaller municipalities, with less than 500 inhabitants, of 11%, where only 379 branches remain.
This dynamic was only partially compensated in the territory as a whole by the increase in alternative channels, such as ATMs, mobile offices, financial agents or Post Office services. This mix of solutions reached 50,672 points, 1.6% more, with special mention to financial agents, which increased 34%, up to 2,299, and ‘ofibuses’, of which there are already 787, 28% more.
However, the final result is unfavorable when Spain as a whole is taken. “A drop of 0.8% was recorded in the total number of in-person access points to banking services,” is the verdict of the Bank of Spain.
The main nuance to this result is that, despite the fact that offices continue to close in emptied Spain, it is the municipalities with less than 500 inhabitants that, thanks to alternative channels, have gained accessibility to banking services.
There, the number of in-person access points through alternative channels increased by 22% last year, up to 1,354. Offices were closed, but when general access to services is computed, the result is an increase of 12.9%.
Small municipalities have been reinforced with 502 mobile offices, 34% more, and 130 financial agents, 36% more. ATMs have also been installed, up to a number of 498, 17% more.
At the end of last year, there were still 167 municipalities in Spain without any in-person access point to banking services, 2.1% of the total. 0.13% of the population lives in these places. Last year the last access point was closed in 56 municipalities, but instead a first access point was implemented in another 223.
These dynamics respond to the protocol signed in February of last year between the Spanish Banking Association (AEB), the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA) and the Government to “reinforce the social and sustainable commitment of banking,” says the Bank. from Spain. The plan is aimed at rural areas and the care of the elderly.
Since that moment, the formula that has worked the most has been mobile offices, chosen 60% of the time to make up for the absence of banking services in small municipalities. Of the 223 municipalities that managed to access these services last year, 179 had fewer than 500 inhabitants.
The problem with this change from branches to buses is that the population is not getting used to it. Among the main conclusions of its report, the Bank of Spain points out that, despite guaranteeing access in small municipalities, its use is still a minority and, to make matters worse, complaints from users are also growing due to the increase in the distance they have. to travel to reach one of these points.
“These results, therefore, affect the importance of accompanying the deployment of alternative channels with actions that promote and facilitate their use by customers, as well as the need to assess the effectiveness of the different available alternatives and investigate the factors that could be behind its low use to date”, concludes the Bank of Spain.
