France's Societe Generale on Monday accelerated plans to boost profitability by merging its two retail banking networks, resulting in the closure of 600 of its nearly 2,100 branches by 2025. SocGen said the plan will cost between 700 million euros and 800 million euros. The number of bank branches in the European Union fell from about 238,000 in 2008 to 174,000 at the end of 2018, European Banking Federation figures show. With the COVID-19 pandemic having accelerated the shift to online banking across Europe, SocGen also aims to strengthen its Boursorama online operation. Boursorama is expected to register cumulative losses of about 230 million euros by 2023 with net income of 100 million euros that year, rising to 200 million euros in 2025.

Source: Mint December 07, 2020 10:52 UTC