In the last few weeks two European banks have announced bank branch closures. As noted in the Financial Times, Handelsbanken which has traditionally had a very strong branch based strategy, will be closing nearly half of their existing branches. This strategic change was championed by Lex in the Financial Times who noted it “will make the Swedish bank a stronger institution.” Then this week Deutsche Bank was reported (also by the Financial Times) to be planning to close about 20% of their branches. In both cases it appears that the impact of COVID-19 was part of the motivation for these choices.
Whilst the issue of bank branches is an important one for banking profitability, too often the discussion ignores the real challenges these closings have on many people. Most readers of the Financial Times and other business press are like me very tech savvy and have multiple devices that allow them to access bank services without ever setting foot in a bank branch. But just as we are seeing with remote virtual education for children and young adults, this access is not available for all. Furthermore there are any number of older people who may lack the tech savvy and experience to use the digital alternatives.
Strategies focused on eliminating bank branches are therefore likely to only further exacerbate the issue of access to financial services for the poor, elderly and already disenfranchised bank clients who need banking services to fully participate in the modern economy. Who will speak for them? Or will they be forgotten?
