How banking desertification is progressing in municipalities. Report First Cisl
Numbers and trends on the flight of banks from municipalities. What emerges from the latest update from the First Cisl Banking Desertification Observatory
Banking desertification accelerates: 3,300 municipalities are left without branches. Data from the Observatory on banking desertification. 3.9% drop compared to 2022. There are 4 million and 373 thousand people who cannot access banking services in their municipality of residence, 362 thousand more than a year ago. Marche, Abruzzo and Lombardy are the regions experiencing the most pronounced decline.
This is what emerges, among other things, from the latest update of the First Cisl Banking Desertification Observatory, which processed the data made available as of 31 December 2023 by Bankitalia and Istat.
THE ESCAPE OF BANKS FROM MUNICIPALITIES
41.5% of Italian municipalities, around 3,300, no longer have bank branches in their territory. During 2023, 134 municipalities were "desertified". Desertification has advanced ever more rapidly in recent years: between 2015 and 2023, 13% of Italian municipalities saw the last branch close. A percentage that could rise further: the municipalities with only one branch are in fact 24% of the total. What makes the social unrest more acute is the modest diffusion of internet banking: in Italy only 51.5% of users use it compared to an EU average of 63.9%. Furthermore, the number of companies based in municipalities without a bank branch is also increasing: there are 255 thousand, 22 thousand more than a year ago.
THE TREND IN THE REGIONS
Comparing the numbers with those of a year ago also shows that the closures do not affect the different areas of the country evenly. In 2023 the most affected regions were Marche (-6.7%), Abruzzo (-5.1%), Lombardy (-5.1%), Sicily (-5%), Calabria (-4.2%) . Overall, at a national level, the loss of branches was 3.9%.
THE MAP OF THE PROVINCES
The Observatory on Banking Desertification of the Fiba Foundation also develops an indicator (Ipd, Provincial Desertification Indicator) which assigns a score to each Italian province based on the percentage, calculated on the respective totals, of the number of municipalities without a branch or with a branch, of the resident population, of the companies with registered office in said municipalities and of the related surface area. The ranking that emerges sees Barletta-Andria-Trani, Brindisi, Grosseto, Ragusa, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia and Pisa among the least desertified provinces. The large cities are placed in lower positions: Milan is 24th, Rome 40th, Naples 50th. On the last steps of the ranking we find Vibo Valentia and Isernia.
COLOMBANI: HEAVY BUDGET, FURTHER WORSENING EXPECTED IN 2024
“The race to close the branches has not stopped even in 2023, indeed it promises to register a further acceleration in 2024 based on the implementation of the banks' business plans. The increase in the number of desertified municipalities has now reached dimensions of social alarm", underlines the general secretary of First CISL Riccardo Colombani. “Despite all the proclamations about social sustainability, Italian banks are depriving millions of people of access to an essential service. Those who pay the heaviest price – continues Colombani – are the frail, elderly first and foremost, as well as people with a low level of education, who have poor digital skills. The low level of use of internet banking compared to the EU average tells us one simple thing: the closures depend on the desire to cut costs, not on the spread of digital". “In the USA, two giants such as JP Morgan and Bank of America are opening hundreds of branches and will continue to do so in the coming years. It is a clear signal: the presence in the area is good for society and also for the banks' balance sheets. It is time that in Italy – concludes Colombani – the problem is addressed by politics and institutions: First Cisl is ready for discussion".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/come-avanza-la-desertificazione-bancaria-nei-comuni-report-first-cisl/ on Fri, 16 Feb 2024 10:55:37 +0000.