The Central Bank explained the reasons for the reduction in the number of bank branches

A steady trend towards digitalization and ecosystem transformation has emerged in the financial market. On December 5, Izvestia was informed by the Central Bank (CB) in response to a question about the reasons for banks to reduce their branches in the regions of Russia.

As Izvestia found out, since the beginning of the year, Russian banks have closed 1,327 of their branches. If on January 1 there were 24,050 of them, then by November 1 there were 22,723. At the same time, for the whole of 2024, according to the statistics of the regulator, only 486 divisions of banks were abolished.

"Credit institutions are also transferring services to a remote (digital) format, which allows them to reduce costs and increase profitability," the press service of the Bank of Russia told Izvestia.

They noted that it is difficult to ensure the profitability of a standard bank office in a locality where less than 2.5 thousand people live.

"Therefore, banks may close some offices. They are not required to ensure the physical presence of units in each locality. At the same time, the Central Bank ensures that the process of transition to remote service is balanced and does not create inconveniences for consumers. We insist that when the office is closed, credit institutions provide people with the opportunity to continue receiving financial services in the usual way — at "physical" points of presence," the regulator's press service said. .

At the same time, the Central Bank noted that, together with banks, the regulator is developing lightweight and mobile formats for servicing citizens. For example, the Cash at the Checkout service, which allows a citizen to withdraw a small amount of cash simultaneously with a purchase, mobile offices, as well as using a network of post offices to provide banking services.

Cash register removed: banks closed three times as many branches in a year

Does digitalization of the financial sector threaten residents of small towns where it is unprofitable to maintain offices

On December 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian banking sector is operating confidently and stably. He stressed the need to increase the contribution of banks to the development of the domestic economy and direct their funds to the implementation of business ideas in all regions, not just in megacities. To do this, he said, each constituent entity of the Russian Federation has implemented a regional investment standard and created development agencies to help investors resolve land, infrastructure and regulatory issues.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.