In the first six months of 2025 the Italian banks closed 261 counters, a drop of 1.3% compared to the end of 2024. The second quarter marked an acceleration compared to the first, when the closures had been 95. The cuts to the physical network did not affect the different areas of the country homogeneously. The most affected regions were Friuli Venezia Giulia (- 2.3%), Marche (- 2.3%), Sicily, Veneto and Basilicata (- 1.9%). This is what emerges since the last update of the Banking Desertification of the FIBA Foundation of FIRST CISL, which processes the data made available on 30 June 2025 by Banca d’Italia and Istat.
The effects of bank risiko
The effects of bank risiko begin to manifest on the physical network. Bper, also considering the network of Banca Popolare di Sondrio branches, becomes the first reality in Lombardy (673 branches, equal to 17.9%of the total) in front of Banco Bpm (523, 13.9%), Intesa Sanpaolo and Iccrea (both at 501, 13.4%). In the richest Italian region about 58% of the branches are now in the hands of only four groups: a data, the latter, intended to not undergo significant variations due to the antitrust prescriptions addressed to Bper, to which the sale of only six branches was imposed. On the national level, Intesa Sanpaolo remains the first group by presence on the territories, but the further decrease in branches that occurred in the first semester of the year (- 141 compared to the end of 2024) means that the detachment from Iccrea, which in the same period closed just six branches, has reduced to a minimum (28). The Bper group, with the acquisition of Popolare di Sondrio, rises to fourth place. Cassa Centrale Banca is in fifth place, the only group to have opened 9 branches in the period considered.
Escape from small municipalities
In the first six months of 2025 another 34 municipalities remained free of branches on their territory. The total number therefore risen to 3,415, equal to 43.2% of the total. The number of people who do not have access to banking services or risk losing it continues to increase: compared to 31 December 2024 there are over 11.2 million. Of these, more than 4.7 million (+ 1.8%) live in totally desertified municipalities; Almost 6.5 million (+ 3%) in municipalities being deserted, those with a single counter. Furthermore, the number of companies that have their headquarters in desertificated municipalities is growing: there are 6,116 more than the previous quarter. The significant dimensions of the centers affected by desertification are also confirmed: there are 13 municipalities above the 10 thousand inhabitants without a counter, of which one has more than 20 thousand inhabitants (Trentola Ducenta, in the province of Caserta). To understand the real scope of the phenomenon, the data must be read in parallel with those on the spread of the internet banking, still modest: in Italy only 55% of users use it against an EU average of 67.2%. As one shows that bank desertification represents an accelerator of social exclusion, especially for the elderly bands of the population, penalized by the lower level of digital skills (between 65 and 74 years of age only 33.9% use the Internet Banking against an EU average of 44.7%).
The map of the provinces
The Banking Desertification Observatory of the FIBA FOUNDATION OF FIRST CISL also processes an indicator (IPD, provincial desertification indicator) which assigns to each Italian province a score on the basis of the percentage, calculated on the respective totals, the number of municipalities without counter or with a counter, of the resident population, of the companies with registered office in these municipalities and of the relative surface. The ranking that emerges sees in June 2025 among the least desertificated provinces the confirmation of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Brindisi, Grosseto, Pisa, Ragusa, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia and the entrance of Ferrara, who benefited from the opening of a cooperative credit bank. The big cities are located in more backward positions: Milan is 22 °, Rome 38 °, Naples 46th. Vibo Valentia and Isernia remain on the latest steps of the ranking.
