BNP Paribas plans large-scale branch closures in France
Around a third of physical branches will close amid ‘changes in the way people bank’
Around 500 banks are set to close by 2030, representing a third of the company’s high street presence in France
Sylv1rob1/Shutterstock
Leading French bank BNP Paribas is to close a third of its branches across France by 2030, it has announced, with up to 500 sites expected to be affected.
Further details of the plans are set to be announced during a company-wide meeting on March 26, reports Reuters and Les Echos.
The banks are set to close due to the rising digitisation of banking and a drop in visitor numbers to high-street branches, the company has said.
The rate of closure could accelerate to as many as 100 per year until 2030. This will leave BNP Paribas with around 1,000 branches nationwide.
A spokesperson for the bank told the AFP: “Social dialogue is underway. We cannot comment on discussions with union organisations that are still ongoing.” More discussions are set to begin with unions at the end of March, it said.
However, in a press release sent to the AFP, the bank said that the move was part of “a strategic plan for BNP Paribas”, which also includes “an investment plan in the upskilling of our teams and in technology for commercial development”.
This plan ‘will enable the bank to better meet the expectations of its individual, professional and business customers”, it said.
A ‘review of the way customers bank’
“This is not at all a reduction or restructuring plan,” said bank CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé at a press conference held to announce the bank’s results for 2024, in February.
Rather, the change is part of a “review of the way in which customers currently bank”, both online and in physical branches. “This is what needs to be rethought and rebalanced,” he said.
Read also: Traditional French banks under pressure as customers switch
Read more: More French banks offer virtual payment cards: How do they work?
It comes after the CEO of German banking group Deutsche Bank, Christian Sewing, announced plans to cut “nearly 2,000 jobs” this year in its retail banking division, after it found it to be insufficiently profitable. It is set to close around 50 branches across Germany this year, and currently has around 400 nationwide.
Similarly, its subsidiary Postbank is also set to reduce its branch numbers from 550 to 300 by mid-2026.
