Data shows slight decline in number of bank branches in most EU countries

The European Central Bank (ECB) published in July 2014 a comprehensive dataset of annual structural financial indicators for the banking sector in the European Union (EU). It comprised statistics on the number of branches and employees of EU credit institutions, as well as data on the degree of concentration of the banking sector in each EU Member State, and data on the share of foreign-controlled institutions in the national banking markets of the EU.

The structural indicators showed, for instance, that, in most EU Member States, the downward trend in the number of branches and bank employees of domestic credit institutions observed in previous years has continued. There were about 200,000 branches of domestic credit institutions in the EU at the end of 2013.

The data also indicated that the degree of concentration and the share of foreign-controlled institutions continue to vary significantly across national banking markets. The share of total assets of the five largest credit institutions ranged at national level from a minimum of 31% to a maximum of 94%. The indicators also show that in 2013 the total assets of foreign-controlled subsidiaries declined in most EU Member States.