The main Spanish entities reduced their network of offices in Spain by approximately 1,360 last year, to 10,500 branches at the end of December, according to data collected in the financial reports published by the same banks. In addition, they ended 2022 with a workforce close to 120,600 workers, which means 5,800 fewer employees than in 2021, when they had teams that totaled 126,500 people, according to the Europa Press agency.
Compared to the situation in September, the branch network has been reduced by 100 branches, while the number of employees has increased by 300 people, so the pace of closures and exits is slowing of workers that had occurred in the bank during the last years.
During the pandemic, and with the aim of gaining efficiency, the sector undertook a restructuring that has reduced its network of branches and its staff, betting, instead, on offering more and more digital services. The mergers carried out in 2021 between CaixaBank and Bankia and Unicaja and Liberbank have also been aimed, in part, at achieving synergies that would allow them to operate in an increasingly competitive environment.
The rural environment has been affected by the closure of these offices. For this reason, the bank has signed an agreement with Correus to facilitate access to the “empty” Spain of financial services and has undertaken to ensure within six months at least one face-to-face access point to banking services in all municipalities with more than 500 inhabitants and, in case of failure to achieve this within this period, to install generic ATMs within an additional period of six months.
By entities, Santander had 1,913 branches in Spain at the end of December, practically the same number as in 2021, and a workforce of 26,839 workers, a 0.62% increase in the year-on-year rate. BBVA also maintained the network in 1,886 branches and increased the number of employees by 4.4%, up to 25,945 people.
CaixaBank, on the other hand, reduced its branch network in Spain by 17.89%, to 4,081 facilities, compared to the 4,126 it had at the end of 2021, and its workforce fell by 11, 18% up to 40,221 workers. For its part, Unicaja Banco closed 400 branches in 2022, a decrease of 29.24%, bringing its network to 968 branches. The number of workers at the end of December was 7,835, 15.43% less than in 2021.
Finally, Bankinter maintained its branch network at 446 points and increased its workforce by 4.58%, to 6,419 employees, while Banco Sabadell cut the number of branches by 4.60%, to 1,243, and by 6.26% the number of workers, up to 13,413.