FINANCE: Cyprus has more bank branches and employees than most EU states

Cyprus bank branches and employees cater to fewer customers than other bank networks in the European Union because there’s so many.

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Despite a significant shrinking of the number of branches, and early retirement schemes, Cyprus banks still have a higher number of branches and employees than any other EU country, apart from Luxembourg.

According to data put together by Stockwatch, a bank employee in Cyprus ‘caters’ to an average of 95 inhabitants, which is the third of the average number of citizens catered by banking employees in Spain and Greece.

In Germany there is one bank employee for every 147 inhabitants, while in France the ratio is one to every 164.

Bank stakeholders, said Stockwatch, say that the findings are evidence that Cyprus banks are lagging behind in digitalizing their processes, while not in a position to manage the workforce according to circumstances as easily as in the EU due to the trade unions.

They also argue that local banks focus more on personal contact in contrast to other European countries.

Despite the dramatic shrinking of banks' retail network in recent years, the number of Cyprus branches is relatively high, as there is a branch for every 2202 inhabitants.

This is the lowest number of inhabitants per branch in Europe. In other small countries, such as Malta and Luxembourg, there is one branch for every 4700 and 2800 inhabitants respectively, said Stockwatch.

The figures also highlight the large digital leaps made by countries such as the Netherlands, where there is one bank branch for every 11,500 inhabitants, with most bank customers completing their transactions online.

According to Central Bank data, the number of bank employees in Cyprus decreased in 2018 to 8,946 from 10,632 in 2017 and 10,956 in 2014.

The number of bank branches in Cyprus dropped to 386 in 2018 from 460 in 2017, recording a 16.1% decline.