Thus, financial entities reduced the number of municipalities without physical access to banking by 300 last year, from 3,230 to 2,930, resulting in an unserved population decrease of 97,955 individuals, from 657,557 in 2021 (1.4% of the Spanish population) to 559,602 (1.19%). If we include non-bank ATMs and cash-back options (the possibility of obtaining cash in stores), these figures are even lower: 2,797 municipalities and 494,916 people (1% of the population), representing 433 and 162,641 fewer than in 2021.
This is reflected in a report prepared by the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (Ivie) for the banking employers’ associations (AEB, CECA, and Unacc). The study, conducted by Professor Joaquín Maudos, follows the degree of compliance with the plan for rural Spain agreed upon in early October between the Ministry of Economy and the sector.
In general terms, the Ministry of Economy is satisfied with the evolution of initiatives for rural Spain and the elderly. The plan, which includes the commitment to provide face-to-face financial services to “100% of the territory” for the first time in history, is divided into two blocks based on the size of the populations: more or less than 500 inhabitants. In the first case, the number of excluded municipalities has decreased from 243 in 2021 to 164 in 2022.
A second quarterly report indicates that between January and March, this number decreased by another five; however, it is specified that at least 55 additional municipalities – mainly in Burgos and León – will be added in the coming months, resulting in the excluded population in that group of municipalities dropping from 211,550 people in 2021 (0.45% of the total population) to around 88,000 (0.18%).
Thus, banks have extended access to their services to 69 new municipalities with more than 500 inhabitants between December 2021 and last March: one office was opened (Torre de Santa María, in Cáceres), 33 banking ATMs were installed, access to banking was provided through post offices in 21 locations, and 14 through mobile banking units. Additionally, in 15 other municipalities, cash can be withdrawn and deposited thanks to non-bank ATMs, which were not counted in the initial study on the closure situation from 2021.
With the 55 municipalities with more than 500 inhabitants that will be added to the list in the coming months, the banking sector will have brought its services to 57% of those identified at the end of 2021.
Moreover, its commitment is to cover the entire population by October, when it will be one year since the signing of the plan. To achieve this, it is finalizing the activation of the second phase: the installation of white label ATMs. In recent weeks, it has negotiated the sharing of costs among the entities.
Postmen and Stores
Regarding municipalities with fewer than 500 inhabitants, in addition to the previous solutions, others are considered, such as Correos Cash (obtaining cash from postmen) or cash back and cash in shop (obtaining cash in stores). In this group, the number of excluded municipalities fell by 354 in 2022, from 2,987 to 2,639 (88 thanks to cash-back and 45 due to non-bank ATMs not included in the 2021 report), and the unserved population decreased by 93,083, from 446,007 to 352,924 individuals.
In the total number of municipalities with more and fewer than 500 inhabitants, last year the number without an office increased (by 111, to 4,533), but there were also increases in those with a banking ATM (by 86), financial agents (105), post offices (199), and mobile offices (21). Consequently, the total unserved population last year rose to 300, to which 133 provided service through cash-back and non-bank ATMs should be added.
The report highlights that, despite the reduction in the total number of offices in the country (down by 1,367, to 17,648), Spain still has the third densest network in Europe (2,463 inhabitants per office compared to the EU average of 3,232). The total number of ATMs also decreased last year (by 2,406, to 45,233), but the Spanish network ranks fourth in the EU (995 inhabitants per ATM compared to the European average of 1,344). Furthermore, the study emphasizes that of the 4,533 municipalities that did not have an office at the end of 2022, 78.3% (3,550) also had none in 2008, the year when the number of branches reached its historical peak, “which means that closures are concentrated in municipalities that still have at least one banking office today.”
