Mass bank closures in Germany have affected nearly all regions. Berlin, in particular, is going through challenging times in this regard, as indicated by our extensive analysis of OpenStreetMap data. Major German metropolises, in particular, are suffering.
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In cities with a population of at least 100,000, the number of closing branches is twice as high as in other locations. The Commerzbank in Berlin alone has shut down half of its branches. Erlangen has recorded the largest decline per capita, primarily due to the closure of every third Sparkasse branch.
Why are there mass bank closures in Germany?
Local branches are becoming less popular among Germans.
Even the elderly increasingly neglect visits to bank branches. Almost half of Germans aged 65 and older conduct banking operations online, a trend that has been rapidly gaining momentum.
Over the past four years, the number of elderly people using online banking has more than doubled. Most of them also use their mobile phones for banking operations. The slow demise of the industry, evident on the maps, began long before the era of smartphones.
According to Bundesbank data, the number of branches has steadily decreased over three decades. In the 1990s, the focus was on cost reduction.
- Unprofitable locations closed;
- Financial institutions merged;
- Sometimes there were too many neighboring branches.
During that time, Postbank aimed to attract depositors to its branches through vibrant advertising of free accounts. Those times have passed. In the next two years, it is expected that almost half of the branches will disappear. Analysis indicates that Postbank has made the smallest reductions among the five largest banks since 2017.
Deutsche Bank, the parent company of Postbank, has also significantly reduced its branch network. A quarter of all branches closed in just under seven years. Commerzbank took an even more radical approach.
The situation outside of commercial banks is not as dramatic. Savings banks lost one out of eight branches, and Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken lost only one out of eleven.
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Life in Germany has been significantly impacted by the mass bank closures, with Berlin and major metropolitan areas being particularly affected. Many elderly Germans are now conducting their banking operations online, contributing to the decreasing popularity of local bank branches.
Despite these closures, some banks like Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken have only lost a small percentage of their branches, indicating a less dramatic situation outside of commercial banks.
