The decline of bank branches in Belgium continues, announces La Dernière Heure on Thursday. A report by Financité has confirmed that 1449 agencies have closed in the country between 2008 and late 2014. The newspaper also confirmed that, according to the different banking institutions, digital transition no longer justified keeping as many agencies open.
This decision will be applied mostly in rural areas of Wallonia, where it is the most tangible. The region currently still has 1657 agencies open, representing 4.6 agencies per 10,000 inhabitants and only 9.8 agencies available within 100 square kilometres.
In Flanders, 4.725 agencies remain, that is 7.4 per 10,000 inhabitants and 35 institutions within a 100 square kilometres reach. In Brussels, where the population density is of course much higher, the situation is not quite as good, with only 3.6 agencies per 10,000 inhabitants.
(Source: Belga)
