More than three-quarters of the population in Lombardy, Italy’s largest and most industrialized region, banked online last year, compared with the national average of 63 per cent, the Bank of Italy said on Wednesday.
Digital banking in Lombardy has grown 20 percentage points since 2015, the central bank said in a report on the region’s economy, which grew 3.8 per cent in 2022, slightly above the national average.
The data supports No. 2 Italian bank UniCredit’s argument against acquiring Lombardy-based rival Banco BPM (BAMI.MI), a deal some shareholders have called for to strengthen its regional presence. In April UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said digital users helped his bank secure 11 per cent of deposits in Lombardy, more than its 6 per cent share of branches in the region suggested.
Italy’s ageing population spread over about 7,900 municipalities has been slower to adopt digital banking, a major way for lenders to cut costs, than in the UK and Nordic countries.
The number of bank branches in Lombardy fell 4 per cent in 2022, bringing the total decline since 2008 to 39 per cent, compared with 41 per cent for the European Union, the Bank of Italy said.
Even with the reduction, Lombardy has 41 bank branches per 100,000 residents, against a national average of 36, it added.
To cut costs and upgrade its IT infrastructure, Italy’s biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) this month launched its digital-only bank Isybank.
Citing Eurostat data, the Bank of Italy said 67 per cent of Lombardy’s population in 2022 accessed banking services online. This is in line with the EU average and some 10 percentage points above the Italian average.
