Spain 
Italy 
Greece 
Portugal is One of the European countries with the Fewest Bank Employees Per Inhabitant
2 November 2017
The reduction of bad debts will continue to be the focus for Portuguese banks in the coming years, according to a study by consultancy Oliver Wyman, which estimates that Portugal is one of the European countries with the least number of bank workers relative to the population as a whole.
According to a report on the European financial system published today by Oliver Wyman, there were 45.1 bank employees in Portugal per 10,00 inhabitants at the end of 2016, while there were 56.7 in 2012, a drop of 20%.
These figures confirm the loss of thousands of jobs in the Portuguese banking system in recent years.
Only Spain and Greece have fewer bank employees per inhabitant, according to the study.
At the end of last year, Spain had 40.3 bank employees per 10,000 inhabitants (a drop from 52.6 in 2012), while Greece had 39.7 (down from 54 in 2012).
Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Cyprus all had a higher ratio than Portugal.
Of the analysed countries, Cyprus had the highest number of workers in banks (91.1 per 10,000 inhabitants, down from 114.7 in 2012), followed by Germany (76 in 2016, compared to 82.7 in 2012).
The ranking continues with France (60.1 in 2016 versus 65.2 in 2012), the United Kingdom (59 in 2016, 71.8 in 2012), the Netherlands (50.4 in 2016 and 63.1 in 2012) and Italy (48.7 in 2016, 53.3 in 2012).
Oliver Wyman also analysed the number of bank branches per 1000 km2, concluding that at the end of 2016 Portugal had about 60 branches per unit of territory examined, 21% less than in 2012. Greece, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom had a lower ratio (in this case, data for 2014).
The study looked at the transformation of European banking in recent years, since the crisis, highlighting capital increases, geography and non-profit business lines and concentration among institutions.
However, the restructuring will continue unabated, due to the sector’s need to adapt to customer needs, technological developments (such as digitization) and regulatory requirements.
In the case of Portugal, Oliver Wyman highlights the problem of high levels of non-performing loans (NPL), which accounted for 19.5% of the total at the end of 2016, well below Greece and Cyprus (around 45% in each one).
The consultancy expects that a continuing reduction will be a priority for banks in the coming years.
“Banks with high NPL ratios (such as in Greece, Italy and Portugal) are expected to continue the process of restructuring, reducing and selling NPL over the next five years to significantly reduce their risk exposure,” he says.
Original Story: Dnotícias.pt / Lusa
Photo Miguel Pereira / Global Images
Translation: Richard Turner