(ANSA) - ROME, APRIL 05 - In ten years in Italy almost 10,000 bank branches have disappeared: from 34,036 at the beginning of 2010 to 24,312 at the beginning of 2020, about 30% less.
Despite the caloperò we are still fourth in Europe with 39 branches per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 56 at the beginning of the decade.
The European average is at 22. This
is what emerges from the Report on sustainable finance of the Foundation for Subsidiarity.
Three quarters of the branches (18,393) belong to banks set up as joint stock companies.
Co-operative credit banks follow with around 17% (4,236) and cooperative banks with 6% (1,548).
Finally, there are 135 branches of foreign banks.
Another phenomenon examined by the Foundation for Subsidiarity is the spread of home banking.
In ten years, from 2010 to 2020, in Italy the customers who use the Internet to operate on their account have doubled, going from 18% to 35%.
However, the Peninsula is still very far from the continental average of 58%.
Home banking is widespread in major economies such as Spain (62%), Germany (65%), France (66%) and Great Britain (77%).
Meanwhile, the concentration process in the banking sector continues.
At the end of 2019, the top five credit institutions in Italy represented 47% of total assets.
A similar scenario is found in France (49%), while it is lower in Germany (31%).
The Spanish market is more concentrated (67%). "Digital technology, competition and the challenge of sustainability are revolutionizing banks and customer relations", observes Giorgio Vittadini, president of the Foundation.
(HANDLE).
