The number of outlets of Ukrainian banks in the first quarter of 2023 decreased by 2.7%, or by 147, to 5.192 thousand, according to the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
According to it, in January-March this year, most of all outlets closed Raiffeisen Bank – 27 and A-Bank – 10, then in their networks were 323 and 205 outlets, respectively.
Ukrbudinvestbank reduced the number of outlets by 6 – to 44, Sense Bank and FUIB – by 5, to 138 and 221, respectively, and Ukrsibbank – by 3, to 230.
Among the smaller banks the largest decrease of the network was registered in the bank “Clearing House” – from 5 to 3 branches, Evroprombank – from 6 to 5, and in the bank “Concorde” – from 14 to 12.
Taskombank opened the most number of outlets in the first quarter of this year – 3, increasing their number to 93.
Kredobank and Cominbank added 2 branches to their networks, increasing their number to 67 and 52 correspondingly.
On the whole, the pace of reduction in the number of bank branches in the first quarter of this year slowed down to 2.7%, as in the fourth quarter of the previous year it was 3.3%, in the third – 7.9% and in the second – 8.1%.
This is largely due to the fact that state banks have probably heeded the call of the National Bank, which in February this year suggested that the Finance Ministry, as the owner of state banks, introduce a moratorium on reducing their branch network during the war.
Over the past year, it was reduced in Oshchadbank by 420 business units – to 1.182 thousand, PrivatBank – by 287, to 1.21 thousand, Ukrgazbank – by 51, to 217, and Ukreximbank – by 5, to 48. In the first quarter of this year, Oshchadbank even opened one branch, while PrivatBank closed only one.
According to the NBU, as of April 1 this year in Ukraine, the largest branch networks owned by PrivatBank – 1209, Oschadbank – 1183, Raiffeisen Bank – 323, Ukrsibbank – 230, FUIB – 221, Ukrgasbank – 217, A-Bank – 205, Accordbank – 143, Credit Agricole Bank – 141 and Sense Bank – 138.
State banks at the beginning of April 2023 accounted for 51.2% of all bank branches in Ukraine, which corresponds to the situation before the war, although at the end of last year their share decreased slightly – to 49.8%.
As earlier reported, the number of structural subdivisions of Ukrainian banks in 2022 decreased by 20.2%, or by 1,349 branches, to 5.336 thousand.
