Over three-quarters or 75% of the population in Lombardy, Italy’s largest and most industrialized area, banked online this past year, compared with the national average of just 63%, the Bank of Italy recently revealed.
Virtual banking in Lombardy has reportedly increased by around 20 percentage points since 2015, the reserve bank stated in a report on the area’s overall economy, which expanded a modest 3.8% in 2022, just above the national average.
The recent data supports major Italian banking institution UniCredit‘s argument that went against acquiring Lombardy-headquartered competitor Banco BPM, a transaction certain stakeholders have recommended in order to enhance its regional operations.
In April of this year, UniCredit Chief Executive Andrea Orcel stated that digital platform clients had assisted his bank with securing a substantial 11% of deposits in Lombardy, notably more than its 6% share of branches in the area suggested.
As reported by Reuters, Italy’s aging population, spread across around 7,900 different municipalities, has been relatively slower to regularly use digital banking, a widely-used way for lenders to reduce operational costs, than in the UK and Nordic nations.
The number of banking branches in Lombardy declined 4% last year, bringing the overall drop since 2008 to about 40%, compared with 41% for the EU, the Bank of Italy revealed.
Despite the considerable reduction, Lombardy reportedly has 41 banking branches for roughly 100,000 locals, against a national average of 36, it noted.
In order to lower costs and update its IT infrastructure, Italy’s largest banking institution Intesa Sanpaolo this past month introduced its all-digital bank Isybank.
While referencing Eurostat data, the Bank of Italy stated that about 67% of Lombardy’s residents last year had accessed banking services via online platforms.
This is consistent with the European Union average and about 10 percentage points greater than the Italian average. More than likely, we will see many more consumers (old and young) begin to use virtual banking services, a trend that really accelerated following the COVID outbreak. Although online platforms provide more convenience, they have also led to the rise of scams, malicious phishing activities, and damaging security breaches.