ABRUZZO-MOLISE. In spring, like every year, Bankitalia data arrives relating to banking employment and the presence of institutions in the territories. And every year, as far as Abruzzo and Molise are concerned, the situation appears worsened compared to the previous one.
Simply put: banks are not only abandoning our territories, but they seem to be in a great hurry to do so, with closures proceeding at a greater speed than what happens in other regions.
Let’s see in detail the trend of branch closures in our regions, divided by province.
Molise and Abruzzo are respectively worst and the second worst region in Italy regarding the percentage of branches closed in the last 5 years. Don’t be fooled by Molise’s data for the last year, which is slightly better than the national average: with 78 remaining branches there is very little left to close.
The numbers are disheartening to say the least Molise: there are no banks in over 8 out of 10 municipalities, reaching the figure for Isernia which sees the inhabitants of almost 90% of the municipalities forced to move if they want to carry out banking operations.
Unfortunately, Molise is a history in itself: the data are merciless for the province of Campobasso, and even more so for that of Isernia.
We reiterate it for the umpteenth time: the closure of bank branches in small municipalities will probably not be the main cause of depopulation, but it is certainly a factor that speeds it up. It is not far-fetched to say that the takeover of the large national groups, instead of the local banks that until a few years ago were serving the area, has contributed in a tangible way to the escape from the most problematic areas of the two regions.
Reading the overall data tells us that over 40% of bank branches are concentrated in just 3 regions: Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna. 57% of the branches are concentrated in the North, just 22% in the South and Islands (area in which Abruzzo and Molise are included).
These data, if possible, are even more worrying than those relating to closures. Because they highlight a much more significant deviation compared to the national average. In Abruzzo the decline in workers is more than three times faster than in the rest of the country; in Molise the difference is 2.5 times.
The data relating to branch closures instead tells us that the percentage of closed branches in Abruzzo is higher than the average, but only by a third, while that of Molise is approximately equal to 1.4 times the national average.
How can we explain the different trend in these numbers?
The reasons are different. The first is of a historical nature. Two strongly rooted local banks were based in our area, which in addition to the branch network had all their management centers located mainly in Abruzzo. The acquisition by national banks led to the emptying of these structures and the transfer of work to the headquarters of the successor companies. As proof of this phenomenon – which obviously affected not only Abruzzo and Molise but all the regions in which local institutes had their headquarters – there are the counter-trend data of the regions in which the large institutes have their operational headquarters: employment results in increase in Piedmont and in Emilia Romagna.
The second is to be found in the fact that our two regions are more “ahead” than the others in the process of abandonment by the large institutes. Therefore, while in other regions the closures mainly concern small agencies, in Abruzzo and Molise the smaller branches have already been closed, and now the closures concern the larger branches.
The third is that in the most important centres, where historic branches remain open, their staff is being reduced. Thus, it happens that we see large branches, once crowded with male and female workers, in which today there are few colleagues manning an expanse of empty desks or closed rooms.
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF ABANDONMENT FROM BANKING?
The banks argue that the closure of branches has no impact on the local economy as the advent of digital makes physical presence in the area superfluous. The data relating to credit trends demonstrate a very different reality: where branches close, credit to small businesses also declines (not to larger ones, which banks assist through dedicated structures).
The following table is taken from an in-depth analysis of‘Fisac Studies & Research Offices CGIL which we will publish in full in the next few days.
Observing the trend of loans disbursed to individual customer sectors, and indexed with a base of 100 in 2017, it is noted that with the exception of loans to consumer families (substantially mortgages), which increased in the period 2017-2022 only to then reduce in the last year due to effect of rate increases, all categories show a reduction in credit lines compared to 2017, with the exception of bank loans to medium-large businesses in Molise which have increased by over 28% in the last six years.
What do these numbers tell us? That when they cannot find bank branches in the area, small businesses are no longer able to finance themselves. The decline is consistent in both regions (-19.7% in Abruzzo and -12.4%) in Molise. And this despite the period of interruption of the 2020-2021 decreasing trend supported, in the Covid period, by exceptional credit support measures.
The situation of larger companies is different, which the banks follow with dedicated structures and are not affected by the smaller presence in the area: in Abruzzo the reduction is limited to 5.7%, in Molise, as we have seen, there is a significant increase, demonstrating how the effect of closures is very different depending on the size of companies
What does a small business do when it can no longer obtain credit? Either it closes, or it seeks other financing channels, ending up in the hands of loan sharks. How are small entrepreneurs in Abruzzo and Molise doing?
Let’s examine the next table, taken from ranking of Italian provinces based on the incidence of crimes, drawn up annually by Sun 24 Hours
The table tells us that even provinces that have a very low crime index, such as L’Aquila and Chieti, are placed in the first half of the ranking in relation to the incidence of usury crimes.
But above all it tells us that in the top 9 places, always focusing on this type of crime, they appear two provinces of Molise and two of Abruzzowith Isernia conquering the unenviable top of the rankings.
Unfortunately, this is consistent in a province almost completely devoid of banks.
Finally, let’s examine this graph. It reports the change in artisan businesses in 2023, differentiated by region. The illustration is taken from the study of prof. Aldo Ronci Artisan businesses in the last 5 years and in 2023.
Once again, the data that emerges is unequivocal: compared to a 0.35% growth in the number of artisan businesses in Italy, Molise and Abruzzo are among the few regions in which terminations are higher than new activities. Not only that: Molise is, once again, the region with the worst data in Italy, and Abruzzo comes almost immediately after, gaining an unenviable third place.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
Fisac has worked hard on the issue of bank abandonment, to denounce it but also to try to propose solutions to banking companies. A possible measure could consist in moving the management centers from the regions of the North to those of the Central South, thus managing to at least stem the employment hemorrhage, without however causing inconvenience to the companies.
At a regional level, Fisac Abruzzo Molise will promote, seeking the collaboration of the new council, the establishment of a Regional Credit Observatory that can try to govern the phenomenon. A bank cannot be prevented from closing a branch, but with timely planning it is possible to try to look for alternative hypotheses, enabling the Municipalities to propose solutions that are acceptable to the Banks or perhaps to try to replace the outgoing Institute, for example by proposing the opening to a local BCC.
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