Under pressure from increased competition from fintechs and regulatory pressures, large private banks like Itaú closed 430 branches.
This was the case last year, totaling a physical network of less than ten thousand points.
Adding to this account the growth of digital operations, which reduces dependence on professionals, the number of employees has also been reduced.
For example, Itaú Unibanco, Bradesco and Santander reduced their teams by 6,923 people, whose departures were mainly motivated by voluntary redundancy programs (PDVs).
However, the expectation of these institutions is that the hard work done on the expense side will help to pay off.
However, in 2020, there were lower financial margins and contained growth in service and tariff revenues.
Big Banks
The profits of large banks have been impacted by the increase in the number of players in the sector with the multiplication of fintechs and also regulatory changes such as the special check, which limited monthly interest to 8% since last month.
Itaú Unibanco, which released its financial statements on Monday the 10th, closed 200 branches in the fourth quarter, as it had already signaled to the market.
Only in the Brazil, the network shrank by 172 locations. During the year, 436 branches were closed, pushing the physical network to 4,504,000 locations across Brazil and Latin America. In the Brazilian network alone, the number of branches decreased by 372, to 3,158,000.
For 2020, the bank's signal, at least so far, is that the pace of branch closures will slow down.
“Continuous investment in technology has enabled cost-efficient initiatives, such as branch closures and the voluntary redundancy program.
In non-interest expenses compared to the previous year, below accumulated inflation (4.3% – IPCA) and the collective labor agreement in the period”, highlights Itaú, in a report that accompanies its financial statements.
Bradesco
Rival Bradesco followed the same path, with the addition that it failed to meet its target on the expense side, which grew 7.2% last year, above the guidance that went from 0% to 4%.
With a network of 4,478 branches, the bank reduced its network by more than 100 last year, with most of them closing in the last quarter. On the other hand, Santander Brasil opened 45 branches last year.
Bradesco's goal for 2020 is to close another 300 branches. To offset last year's cost guidance overrun, the bank established a zero-based spending budget for 2020.
As well as areas such as information technology, marketing and assets having to spend less than last year.
"We have a commitment, a very strong purpose to control costs in the coming years," said Bradesco's president, Octavio de Lazari, in a conversation with the press last week.
Itau
In terms of headcount, all major private banks have reduced their workforces. Itaú laid off 5,454 people last year, reducing its workforce from over 100,000 to less than 95,000 as a result of a new POS program.
Competitor Bradesco reduced its staff by 1,276 people, also through a process of voluntary redundancy, which reduced the number of people to 97,329.
Santander, while not announcing a POS initiative, quietly reduced its workforce. While it had only 193 employees in the year, the number of employees cut in the quarter reached 1,663.