Banks in Cyprus have shut down 482 branches and reduced their staff by 4,613 employees, between 2013 and 2023, according to data released by the European Central Bank (ECB).
The first major shock to the banking system came in 2013 with the absorption of Laiki Bank by the Bank of Cyprus, and the changes culminated in 2018 with the absorption of the Cooperative sector by Hellenic Bank.
Smaller acquisitions and mergers, such as Alpha Bank’s acquisition of Emporiki Bank in 2014 and Astrobank’s absorption of USB, also contributed to the downsizing of banks.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 brought the second wave of change, pushing digitisation into the lives of customers and initiating a transformation that led to a further reduction in the banking network and staff through generous voluntary exit schemes.
The ECB data shows that in 2023, the number of bank branches in Cyprus stands at 200, with 6,529 bank employees. In comparison, the Eurozone average is 106,379 branches and 1,766,120 employees. Latvia has the smallest network of branches (61) with 5,111 employees, followed by Estonia with 62 branches and 6,153 staff. In Greece, there are 1,413 bank branches and 28,506 bank employees.
The figures for other countries in 2023 are as follows: Austria has 3,185 branches and 66,258 employees, Belgium has 1,735 branches and 18,344 employees, Croatia has 799 branches and 18,344 employees, the Czech Republic has 1,367 branches and 37,425 employees, Finland has 753 branches and 21,015 employees, and France has 33,526 branches and 389,240 employees.
In France, there are 33,536 bank branches and 389,240 employees, while in Portugal, there are 3,514 branches and 50,993 employees. Spain has 17,820 bank branches and 161,348 employees, Slovakia has 910 bank branches and 17,059 employees, Slovenia has 410 branches and 8,496 employees, and Lithuania has 379 branches and 6,751 employees.
In its analysis, the ECB notes that in 2023, the number of bank branches continued to decrease in most EU member states by an average of 3.09%, and the number of bank employees dropped by an average of 0.81%.
The data also shows that the degree of concentration in the banking sector (measured by the share of assets held by the five largest banks) continues to vary significantly among EU member states.
At the national level, the share of total assets held by the five largest credit institutions ranged from 32.34% (Luxembourg) to 95.58% (Greece) at the end of 2023, while the EU average was 68.6%.
