Three countries account for nearly half of all credit institutions in the EU, while the number of branches and ATMs has fallen to historic lows—contrary to the European regulator’s objectives to protect cash.
The total number of credit institutions in Europe fell to 4,834 in 2024, a 1.9% decline from the previous year, which reflects a significant contraction over the last 16 years.
Denaria recalls that access to cash is a right that banks and regulators are obligated to uphold.
Madrid, April 7, 2026. The European banking sector continues its restructuring process at a pace that is concerning to Plataforma Denaria. According to the annual EBF Facts & Figures 2025 report, published by the European Banking Federation (EBF) in December 2025 with data from 2024, the total number of credit institutions in the EU fell to 4,834 — 1.9% fewer than the previous year and 39.4% fewer since 2009 — and the number of bank branches fell to 126,952, 2.5% fewer than in 2023, representing a cumulative decline of 43% since 2008.
For Denaria, every branch that closes is a point of access to cash that disappears. Citizens living in areas with lower banking density experience a reduction in their ability to access physical cash. This represents a direct erosion of their economic freedom and a threat to territorial cohesion. Banks and regulators have a responsibility to ensure easy, convenient and geographically equitable access to cash.
The loss of ATMs is the most tangible sign of the problem
The most striking figure in the EBF report is the decline in the number of ATMs: in 2024, the EU had 308,646 ATMs, nearly 10,927 fewer than in 2023. The European average stands at 1,456 inhabitants per ATM, but the disparity between countries is significant: in Austria, there is one ATM for every 677 inhabitants, while in Sweden the ratio exceeds 7,000 inhabitants per ATM. This geographic fragmentation of access to cash is, according to Denaria, unacceptable within a single market.
Three countries account for nearly half of European banking
The report also reveals a high degree of structural concentration: Germany (27%), Poland (11%), and Italy (11%) together account for 49% of all credit institutions in the EU. This concentration in a few markets means that most Member States operate with a very limited banking network, which restricts both competition and the incentives to maintain physical networks for customer service and access to cash.
A trend contrary to the objectives of the European legislator
The European regulatory context makes this debate even more urgent. The European Parliament is currently working on the regulation regarding the euro as legal tender and on the digital euro project. Both initiatives are based on the premise that the use of cash is declining and that it is necessary to protect access to and acceptance of cash. However, the reduction in ATMs, branches, and banking institutions runs directly counter to this institutional strategy.
When the fragmentation of the European banking market, the high concentration in a few countries, and the systematic reduction of physical access points to cash are combined, the downward trend clashes directly with the legislator’s objectives. If this dynamic continues, several Member States could find themselves de facto forced into becoming cashless societies—not by choice of their citizens, but due to the inaction of the banking sector and public authorities.
Denaria’s position
Plataforma Denaria recalls that both financial institutions and national and European regulators have a responsibility to adopt concrete measures to ensure that the closure of branches and the removal of ATMs do not deprive any citizens of access to cash, regardless of their place of residence or level of digitalization. Cash is not merely a means of payment: it is a tool for financial inclusion, privacy, system resilience, and citizen sovereignty.