A sight that is becoming increasingly rare in the cityscape: two bank branches that are in the immediate vicinity.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt Is the massive decline in bank branches in Germany gradually coming to an end? Data from the European Central Bank (ECB) last week suggested that conclusion. According to this, the number of branches in 2021 is said to have dropped by just 118 locations to 23,982. An estimate by the analysis company Barkow Consulting, which is available to the Handelsblatt, now raises doubts about this data.
According to the Barkow investigation, almost 1,400 branches were closed last year – at least: around 490 branches of the cooperative banks closed. Barkow derives from certain statistics published by their association that there were probably almost 420 branches at the savings banks. He takes closures of a total of more than 370 branches from publications by Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank.
Peter Barkow, the managing director of Barkow Consulting, was surprised last week that the number of branch closures is said to have fallen to almost zero.
Barkow’s definition of bank branches differs from that of central banks: his definition is stricter than that of central banks. Unlike the Bundesbank, which counts such locations for regulatory reasons, he does not accept partner branches in parcel shops, such as those found at Postbank, or customer offices of building societies. In the past, he usually came up with smaller declines when it came to the loss of branches. This suggests that his estimates of the decline in stores are even more conservative.
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When asked, the ECB pointed out that the data in question it published were preliminary figures. This corresponds to normal practice. “We are checking some figures with the national central banks, which can be revised with the next update if necessary,” said a spokesman. A spokeswoman for the Bundesbank, which supplies the data for Germany in the ECB surveys, emphasized that the data are “estimates that are not yet reliable”.
Bigger discrepancies
Reportedly, these estimates have worked well in the past. This time, however, there seem to be larger discrepancies. The Bundesbank has not yet published its official branch report for Germany, which is based on more reliable data.
Recent reports had also indicated that the banks wanted to further thin out their branch network in the future: Commerzbank CFO Bettina Orlopp indicated last week that Commerzbank was also reducing the number of its locations to below the number of 450 targeted for the end of the year could lower branches. “We need to take a good look at our entire store network because customers are moving in the direction of digital channels,” she said at an event last week.
Deutsche Bank’s head of private customers in Germany, Lars Stoy, has announced that he wants to make as many of the bank’s branches as possible cashless. “I don’t want cash in these branches because unfortunately cash is expensive and so we will only offer it to our customers in a few centers,” he said at a recent conference. The job of these branches is to advise customers “on investments, mortgages, to a certain extent on consumer credit and insurance”.
More: How many bank branches are there really? Study sows doubts about the Bundesbank’s counting method