More than pandas, here we need a WWF to save the bank branches now on the verge of extinction, like the cute Chinese bamboo-eating bears. The closure of a further 163 branches, in the first six months of 2024, has left over 4 million citizens and approximately 266 thousand businesses without a point of reference in the national territory, worsening the already worrying banking desertification that afflicts a quarter of the national territory (in the two-year period 2022-2023 alone, 1,500 branches were closed throughout the country).
The alarm is raised by the recent report of the First Cisl Observatory, which highlights an increasingly critical situation for the productive and social fabric of our country, especially in the South. Provinces such as Grosseto, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia and Pisa, in fact, present a lower degree of impoverishment, having managed to maintain a significant number of branches in the territory, thus ensuring better access to financial services for the population and local businesses. On the contrary, the provinces that are at the bottom of the ranking, such as Vibo Valentia and Isernia, are the most affected by the phenomenon. These territories have seen a drastic reduction in the number of branches, with serious repercussions on the local economic and social fabric. The lack of access to essential financial services in these areas risks further exacerbating the existing inequalities, and creating imbalances also on the industrial and employment front.
“It is particularly worrying to note that this situation is not the result of digital evolution, as one might suppose, but of a process of abandonment that excludes significant segments of the population, especially the elderly, from the possibility of accessing essential services”, commented Antonio Visconti, president of Ficei (Italian Federation of Consortia and Industrialization Entities) and number one of the Industrial Development Area of Salerno.
“In fact, only 51.5% of Italians use internet banking, a percentage well below the European average. For businesses, this scenario represents a particularly difficult challenge. The closure of branches not only limits access to financial services necessary for daily management, but also contributes to a progressive economic isolation of the most peripheral areas, further reducing the possibilities for growth and development”, he adds.
“In the current context, it is essential that large banking groups, while continuing to pursue profitability policies, do not lose sight of their social role. Our invitation is to consider more carefully the needs of the territories and communities that reside there, investing in solutions that can guarantee equal access to financial services for all, regardless of geographical location.”
In 2024, Italian GDP growth is forecast at 0.9%, a stable rate compared to 2023 but lower than in previous years. This slowdown is partly attributable to the reduction in investments and the credit crunch, which has limited access to financing needed for the expansion of economic activities. In this context, the presence of banks becomes crucial to support growth, especially at a time when credit demand remains weak and financial conditions are more restrictive than in the past.
“This dichotomy between North and South requires urgent and targeted intervention to reduce territorial inequalities. It is essential that economic and social development policies take these differences into account, promoting measures that can combat banking desertification in the regions of Southern Italy, thus ensuring – concluded Visconti – equal access to essential financial services for all citizens and businesses in the country”.
