Russian banks are closing their offices on a wholesale basis

According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the number of operating offices of credit institutions in Russia has decreased over the past year.  In percentage terms, this figure was 5%, and in quantitative terms, the reduction affected 1.5 thousand offices compared to the same period of 2020.

The measure mainly affected the representative offices of credit institutions, which are aimed at protecting interests in a specific area, but do not carry out any operations at the same time.

The number of such offices has decreased by more than 30%.

At the same time, the number of branches and operating cash desks has also decreased, but half below the previous figure. The number of head offices decreased by only 10%. At the same time, the maximum number of closings fell on both capitals and the Moscow region.

VTB has already announced the start of modernization of the regional chain, Gazprombank and Rosbank have also confirmed the closure of dozens of offices, reports Izvestia. However, credit institutions have also announced the opening of new branches.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation associates the changes that have occurred in the work of banks with obtaining extensive access to similar services remotely, however, it indicates the importance of preserving the possibilities of physical services for remote and rural areas.