How Many Banks are Registered in the EU in 2023
The banking system of the European Union shows a high level of stability year after year. This is despite the decline in the total number of financial institutions in the EU over the past 13 years. Based on 2023 data from the European Central Bank (ECB), the statistical publication provides users
with unique information on the structure of, the performance, lending and deposit trends in European banking, as well as a country overview.
Although European banks have proven their resilience and resilience, structural transformation of the sector continued in 2021 to improve efficiency and profitability. The total number of banks in the European Union in 2021 was 5,263.
The rationalization is linked to the digitalization of banking services, as well as to the transformation programs of European banks to respond to changing customer behaviour and improve process efficiency. Bank branches were also affected by this restructuring: their number dropped to
about 139,000, a 5.5 percent decrease from the previous year. By comparison, in 2019, the European Union had 5,981 active banks and 163,270 branches. Every year, about 10,000 branches of banks are closed down, which clearly reflects the trend of banking services to become online.
As of July 2022, the European Union had a total of 5,171 banks operating in 27 member countries, according to Statista. Around 2.15 million people worked in credit institutions across Europe, with some bank employees serving more than 200 customers each.
European Union Countries with the Largest Number of Banks
In 2022, there were almost 1,427 more banks in Germany than in any other European country. This is despite a steady downward trend over the years. The German banking industry has total assets of more than €9.2 trillion.
Europe’s largest banks in 2023
The top 7 largest banks in Europe by the number of total assets (billion euros) at the beginning of 2023:
- HSBC Holdings PLC, UK – 2597 billion euros BNP Paribas SA, France – 2554 billion euros
- Crédit Agricole Group, France – 2 352 billion euros
- Barclays PLC, UK – 1 648 billion euros
- Banco Santander SA, Spain – 1 596 billion euros
- Groupe BPCE, France – 1516 billion euros
- Société Générale SA, France – 1 464 billion euros Deutsche Bank AG, Germany – 1 324 billion euros
- Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Italy – 1 069 billion euros Lloyds Banking Group PLC, UK – 1 055 billion euros

