593 bank branches were closed in the first six months of the year, while municipalities without bank branches increased (+2.9%), surpassing 3,200, accounting for 41% of the total. Finding a bank is becoming increasingly difficult, particularly in certain areas of the country. Not just in small towns or mountain areas, but also in major cities. The withdrawal of banks from territories is not uniform and contains a number of surprises. For example, it is easier to come across a branch in the streets of Barletta or Grosseto than in Milan or Rome. With the closure of bank branches, the number of people (+270 thousand, totaling over 4.2 million) and businesses (+17 thousand, totaling 249 thousand) that do not have access to banking services in their municipality of residence grows. Barletta-Andria-Trani and Brindisi (Puglia), Grosseto and Pisa (Tuscany), Ravenna and Reggio Emilia (Emilia-Romagna), and Ragusa (Sicily) are at the top of the less desertified provinces. No municipality in these seven provinces was left without a bank branch. To find the major cities where, with the exception of MPS, the major banking groups are based, you must descend to the 16th position, which is occupied by Milan. Calabria and Molise are at the bottom of the list. Vibo Valentia and Isernia finished last, followed by Campobasso and Cosenza. Finding a bank in Rieti (Lazio), Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Piedmont), Aosta (Valle d'Aosta), Avellino (Campania), Reggio Calabria, and Catanzaro (Calabria) has become extremely difficult.
|