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The overview shows that banks have continued to scale back their physical presence across Europe as the importance of widespread bank branch networks is reduced. The number of bank branches in the EU declined to 189.270, showing that about 9.100 branches were closed last year. The number of branches compares to 237.701 in 2008.
The number of people working for credit institutions in the EU fell to 2.80 million last year from 2.85 million a year earlier. This compares to 3.26 million in 2008. The number of credit institutions in the EU has consistently fallen for eight years in a row and declined last year by 453 to 6.596 banks from 8.525 in 2008. Germany is home to more than 25% of all banks in the EU.
The total deposits from businesses and households, as defined by non-monetary financial institutions, grew by 1.2% in 2016 to €15.9 trillion in the EU at the end of 2015, with €11.8 trillion in deposits in the euro area. Deposits from households rose 1.7% compared to a year earlier while business deposits increased 3.7%.
The value of loans to EU households declined 0.9% to €7.6 trillion, reflecting a drop in non-euro area values. Loans to households in the euro area however grew for a second consecutive year, adding some €200 billion since 2014.
The EBF Facts & Figures, as multi-faceted digital resource with key data about banking in Europe, also includes data on the European economy, the performance and structure of the banking sector, the digital transformation and individual countries represented by the national banking associations that are a member of the federation. The data is based on publicly available information from the European Central Bank, the European Commission, Eurostat, the European Banking Authority and the members of the EBF.