Largest banks in Italy 2024, by number of branches

As of June 2024, with over 2,700 branches, Intesa Sanpaolo was the bank with the highest number of bank offices in Italy. Following in the list was UniCredit, with 2,270 bank branches. The highest number of bank branches could be found in the two cities with the largest population size in the country: Rome counted 907 branches, while Milan counted 616.

Physical branches are declining

The total number of bank branches in Italy decreased to 20,160 in 2023, from over 33,000 in 2011. A similar trend could be noted around the whole European Union, with the number of bank branches declining from 237,700 in 2008 to less than 133,000 in 2022. This decline in the number of branches was due to several reasons, the most prominent being the steadily growing penetration of online banking, making bank branches less and less important.

Cashless solution increase in popularity

Italians are changing their habits when it comes to payment methods. Digital payments are becoming increasingly popular, also due to the fact that these new methods are making online purchases easier and effortless.