Number of Branches of 4 Major Banks Drops Below 3,000

Kookmin, Shinhan, and Others: 2,952 by End of May
127 Decrease Compared to End of Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] The number of bank branches continued to decline in the first half of this year, with the four major banks seeing a decrease of 127 branches, dropping below 3,000 branches.

According to the financial sector on the 21st, the total number of branches of the four major banks?KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, and Hana?as of the end of May was 2,952, a decrease of 127 compared to the end of last year. With the first half of the year not yet over, the reduction in branches has already reached about 60% of last year's annual decrease (224 branches). The decline this year is expected to be greater than last year.

The number of branches of the four major banks, which was close to 4,000 at 3,927 at the end of 2015, decreased to 3,079 last year, six years later. As non-face-to-face transactions rapidly expanded due to COVID-19, the number of branch closures sharply increased from 2020, resulting in a reduction of about 450 branches during 2020?2021 alone.

By bank, Shinhan Bank experienced the largest decrease, with 44 branches closing this year. Woori Bank reduced by 40 branches, Kookmin Bank by 36, and only Hana Bank saw a single-digit decrease of 7 branches.

As the number of bank branches continues to decline, the Financial Services Commission recently announced the "Measures to Improve Offline Financial Accessibility in the Banking Sector" to compensate for this. First, within this year, it will be possible to conduct deposit and withdrawal transactions of the four major banks at post offices. The Financial Services Commission plans to allow and revise related terms and conditions under the business consignment regulations to activate small withdrawals (cashback) and change deposit of change at cash card affiliated stores such as convenience stores and department stores, and will raise the deposit limit for change. Additionally, the introduction of bank agency services is being pursued. Once bank agency services are introduced, non-bank financial companies and retailers will be able to perform simple and standardized deposit, loan, and foreign exchange services, enabling small foreign exchange transactions at travel agencies and airlines.

There are also forecasts that these measures could accelerate the decline in the number of bank branches. A financial sector official said, "Digital transformation is essential, so the decrease in the number of bank branches is inevitable," adding, "If banking services can be conducted at post offices or other agencies, the number of bank branches may decrease even faster."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.