All in the chat: banks have closed a record number of branches
Banks have closed about 1,700 branches in 2025. This is a record high — a comparable number of offices were liquidated by financial organizations only in 2021, according to the Central Bank. Sber, the bank with the widest network, accounted for more than half of the cuts, especially in small towns. A decrease in the number of branches across the country can create difficulties for residents of small towns and villages, as well as regions with unstable Internet. However, the regulator reported that they are monitoring the availability of financial services. Whether banks will continue to close branches and where to turn if the bank's usual office is no longer there is an article in Izvestia.
Why are banks closing branches
The number of additional bank offices in Russia decreased by almost 1,700 by the end of 2025, follows from the data of the Central Bank, which was studied by Izvestia. This is one of the strongest annual reductions since 2019, with a comparable decrease occurring only in 2021. At that time, a little more than 1.7 thousand branches were liquidated.
In recent years, a steady trend towards digitalization and ecosystem transformation has formed in the financial market, which will continue, the Central Bank's press service told Izvestia. Banks are increasingly transferring services to a remote format, which allows them to reduce costs and increase profitability.
The main banking operations — money transfers and housing and communal services payments — have already gone online en masse, said Igor Dodonov, an analyst at Finam Financial Group. As a result, offices bring banks less and less income, while the cost of maintaining them continues to grow. In such a situation, market participants are forced to reduce costs by optimizing office networks.
The process accelerated in 2025: 3.6 times more branches were closed than a year earlier. By the beginning of 2026, their number had decreased to 22.3 thousand against 30 thousand seven years earlier, according to the Central Bank.
The largest part of the cuts last year came from Sberbank, which closed more than 900 offices. This is almost twice as much as in 2024, according to the Central Bank. At the same time, this particular bank plays a key role in ensuring the availability of banking services in remote regions.
In large cities, the reduction of offices has almost no effect on the provision of services to citizens, while in small towns the risks are higher, the regulator's press service noted. Therefore, when closing branches, banks must provide alternative "physical" service points.
"The Bank of Russia welcomes the trend, but ensures that the transition process is balanced and does not create inconveniences for consumers," the Central Bank noted.
A number of banks, including VTB, Dom.Russia" and "Novik" announced an expansion of the number of additional offices in 2025, and "Saint Petersburg" announced the renewal of the network through offices of a lightweight format. Izvestia sent inquiries to other market participants.
Why visit the bank's office in 2026
Most often, customers come to the branches to receive cards, live consultations and paper certificates, the press service of Bank Saint Petersburg reported.
"Most of the visits are related to complex transactions that require personal presence, such as mortgage processing, as well as the withdrawal of large amounts of cash," added Ivan Belyaev, Director of Novikom's Retail Products department.
Due to the sanctions against most Russian banks, it is also not uncommon for people to need a personal visit to the branch in order to install applications and maintain access to remote services.
In recent years, temporary interruptions to the Internet have also made access to financial services more difficult, the Central Bank's press service stressed. Together with banks and telecom operators, the regulator is switching ATMs to wired Internet and Wi-Fi, as well as expanding the "white lists" of sites that operate even under Internet restrictions so that people can pay with a card and withdraw cash in any situation.
Offices play a separate role in the fight against fraud: due to increased anti-fraud measures, Russians increasingly have to come to the bank to remove locks, work with the dropper database and restore access to applications, said Alla Khrapunova, curator of the Moshelovka platform.
— Visiting offices may be required if it is suspected that a person is acting under the influence of fraudsters — this is necessary to save his money, — explained the VTB press service.
Suspicious transfers can be blocked for up to two days, and if the operation cannot be confirmed remotely, the client is offered to come to the office with a passport, explained Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets.
— The first line of bank employees is a very effective shield in situations where a person is under the influence of fraudsters. There are many cases where they have been able to stop cheating," said Alla Khrapunova.
In addition, Russians can install a self—lock on loan processing through Gosuslugi, in which case they will not be able to apply for a new loan remotely, Igor Rastorguev recalled. If the ban applies only to remote lending, the client has the right to apply for a loan in person at the office.
How much will the number of offices decrease in the future
In the next five years, the number of bank offices may decrease by another 2-2.5 times and drop to 11-12 thousand branches throughout Russia, Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, admitted. This will be facilitated by further digitalization, the introduction of artificial intelligence and the launch of the digital ruble in the fall of 2026.
At the same time, there will be no complete abandonment of offices: the largest banks will keep their networks where they are in demand, especially in small towns and villages, Natalia Milchakova is sure.
Currently, banks operate in localities in different formats, taking into account the requests of citizens and economic feasibility, the Central Bank said. Lightweight offices and mobile points of sale are used. Individual banking services can be obtained at post offices — as of October 1, 2025, there were more than 32 thousand of them. In addition, the number of points where you can withdraw cash at the checkout is growing — now there are more than 43 thousand of them across the country.
Alternative formats for the provision of services are also being developed, the Central Bank added. For example, rural offices are organized in libraries, cultural centers, and medical and obstetric centers - they are used to pay taxes, arrange insurance, and other operations. Such points are organized in 25 regions of the Russian Federation.
In large cities, offices will switch to the phygital format — a combination of physical presence and digital services with additional options for customer comfort, Natalia Milchakova noted. Visiting the branch will allow you to receive various services, from buying coffee to sending a parcel or receiving an online order from a post office, the expert predicts.
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