Eight banks out of 12 lending institutions analyzed by ZF closed down part of their agencies and branches in the June 2-13-June 2014 period, while banks that opened new units were exceptions.
“Banks are working hard to boost efficiency and reducing the number of units is a way to curb expenses. There are not any clear signs yet that restructuring moves are over, there will be further shutdowns. On the other hand, bankers await the economic rebound,” stated Lucian-Liviu Albu, head of the Institute for Economic Forecasting of the Romanian Academy.
Only BRD and Bancpost stand out through the high number of branches and units closed down in the past year, while the other players shut down up to ten units. BRD, the second largest bank in Romania by assets, cut its territorial network by 46 units and operated through 869 branches and agencies in late June.
A similar reduction was applied by Bancpost, with the number of units held by the bank reached 196, from 241 in June 2013. Next by the number of closed down units comes Banca Transilvania. However, the banking institution closed down just 8 agencies and in late June operated with 542 agencies.
The same number of units were eliminated by Banca Carpatica, which came to a network of 129 units after the first six months.
At the most challenging moments, bankers did not hesitate to give up 300 agencies annually, but now lending revival hopes are slowing down restructuring.
On the other hand, the category of banks that “dared” open new agencies includes BCR and Raiffeisen. BCR added seven units in the first six months of this year to the 586-branch network it had in June 2013, while Raiffeisen opened two new agencies. In mid-2014, Raiffeisen had a territorial network made up of 528 agencies and branches.
There were also banks that ended the first half of 2014 with the same number of units against last June.
The recent months have given banks hopes the tap of lending may open wider during the coming period. Leu consumer loans in June posted the first annual increase in five years, while leu mortgage loans kept rising fast.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)