The six major banks close nearly 1,000 outlets a year, and offline banks will disappear?

  In recent years, the reduction of bank outlets has become a trend. In 2019, the total number of outlets of the six major state-owned banks decreased by 836. At the same time, the total number of employees of the six major banks decreased by 11,500. Especially after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, non-congregation became the norm, and the rise of "contactless banking" services further accelerated the closure of outlets.

  I don't know if you have noticed that there are fewer and fewer bank outlets around you, and the data proves this. A reporter from Science and Technology Daily checked the financial license information platform of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and found that as of July 27, a total of 1,730 commercial bank outlets across the country had ceased operations this year.

  The branch is the smallest business unit of a traditional bank. It is a position for customer segmentation, demand matching, product delivery, and the basis for business development. In recent years, the reduction of bank outlets has become a trend. In 2019, the total number of outlets of the six major state-owned banks decreased by 836. At the same time, the total number of employees of the six major banks decreased by 11,500. Especially after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, non-congregation became the norm, and the rise of "contactless banking" services further accelerated the closure of outlets.

  Currently, banking institutions are still in the process of adjusting the layout of their outlets. What are the reasons for the closure of bank outlets? Will they disappear in the future?

  Mobile phone can handle more than 95% of bank retail business

  When handling financial business, more and more people no longer choose to go to bank outlets to do it, but turn on a computer or use a mobile phone to do it through online banking, mobile banking and other channels. Behind the continuous decrease in the number of bank outlets, the high off-counter business rate is an important reason. The off-counter business rate refers to the proportion of the business volume processed by customers leaving the counter in the bank’s total business volume. The higher the off-counter rate, the more customers that handle business through the Internet, mobile payment and electronic self-service channels, and the customer's dependence on offline outlets The lower the degree.

  According to data released by the China Banking Association, the average off-counter business rate of banking financial institutions in 2019 reached 89.77%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 88.67% in 2018. Seven years ago, the average off-counter business rate in the banking industry was only 63.23%.

  At the same time, the volume of electronic banking transactions has grown rapidly. In 2019, the number of online banking transactions of banking financial institutions reached 163.784 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.42%, and the transaction amount reached 165.775 trillion yuan; the number of mobile banking transactions reached 121.451 billion, and the transaction amount reached 335.63 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.88 %; The number of transactions on the e-commerce platform reached 83 million, and the transaction amount reached 1.64 trillion yuan.

  Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of Xinwang Bank and a special researcher of the National Finance and Development Laboratory, said that the Internet and information technology provide strong support for mobile banking, smart customer service and other service methods. A mobile phone is equivalent to a branch, and more than 95% of retail business. It can be handled through mobile phones; more and more customers prefer digital and mobile service experience, and bank branches are unable to meet the needs of customers to obtain services anytime and anywhere.

  At present, most customers go to bank branches for cash or passbook business. With the increase of online business, the cost of offline branches has gradually become more prominent. According to statistics, the income of a bank branch includes interest income and income from the intermediate business of wealth management. After subtracting rent, utilities, and personnel costs, what is left is gross profit. Now, in a well-located branch in a big city, the annual rent can reach one million yuan. If you can't get hundreds of millions of new deposits, it will be difficult to guarantee profit.

  It shrinks quickly but will not disappear completely

  From "staking the horse race" to shutting down and losing weight, does the rapid contraction of bank outlets mean that they will disappear in the future? Wang Mancang, director of the Finance Department of Northwestern University School of Economics and Management, said that although the adjustment of traditional bank branches is a trend, it will not disappear completely. Because the value of offline outlets and customer interaction is difficult to replace, especially some small and medium-sized banks are difficult to match the big banks in terms of visibility and customer acquisition, and outlets are needed as physical carriers to reach customers more closely.

  According to research data, 30% of domestic users only obtain banking services through mobile banking, but this type of customer contributes the least to the bank's income, while the average income contributed by customers who use online and offline channels to obtain banking services is the number of the former. Times. Moreover, once bank outlets are abolished too quickly, the quality of services for certain groups, such as the elderly, will be reduced.

  Li Qilin, chief macro researcher of Lianxun Securities, said that from the perspective of audiences, the key service customers of bank branches in the future can be concentrated on two types of people. One is middle-aged and elderly customers. Their acceptance and trust in the Internet and e-banking are both relatively high. Low, easier to accept the services of physical outlets; second, high-net-worth customers with higher service requirements, their requirements for banking products and services are more diversified, and face-to-face communication is easier to convey and understand their needs.

  From the point of view of the types of outlets, community sub-branches are currently the focus of all banks to slim down. Li Qilin said that community banks have facilitated the lives of surrounding residents and allowed more people to enjoy basic financial services. However, the construction of some community banks is too aggressive, and the business is relatively single. If the surrounding service targets are not enough to ensure that they maintain a break-even balance, it will be difficult to continue to survive. The intelligent transformation of outlets or the construction of smart banks will allow tellers to be "operational". "To "marketing service type" to provide customers with a good experience.

  To pan-functionalization, point-by-point change

  The intelligentization of branches is the general trend, and the new crown pneumonia epidemic is also forcing banks to accelerate their digital transformation. Ms. Wang, who lives in Chongqing, said: “In the past, the most annoying thing was to go to the bank to do the loan business. It may take several offline outlets to complete the process. The subsequent process still requires a long wait. During the epidemic, the bank provided online For business handling, I only need to take photos and send my materials, saving a lot of worry and effort."

  In recent years, many commercial banks have launched a variety of online financial services, and financial technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence have shown their talents. At the same time, we will promote the transformation of outlets to lighter, smarter, and scenario-based, accelerate the organic integration of online and offline, improve radiation capabilities and service tension, and provide customers with services at any time, any place, and in any way.

  Shi Yiming, general manager of OneConnect's intelligent risk control, said that artificial intelligence technology can help banks achieve as much digitalization as possible in their operations. In the past, bank face-to-face audits were conducted at offline outlets. For some young customers, this method has a particularly bad experience. Now you can use remote video face-to-face audits, micro-expression anti-fraud, and smart Q&A to replace the original site The face-to-face review not only enhances the experience, but also improves efficiency.

  With the advent of the 5G era, Shi Yiming believes that the high speed, low power consumption, and high security features of 5G enable financial-level services to be provided anywhere. The proportion of virtual customer service represented by holographic projection will increase.

  As a result, specialized bank outlets will likely continue to lose weight, while offline scenes of daily life such as coffee shops, tea shops, shopping malls, and restaurants will have financial attributes and can provide financial-level services. Financial services will be more personalized and convenient in an environment that consumers like.

  Dr. Zhang Bo from the Financial Research Center of China Post Research Institute said that according to survey data in the United States, the total number of bank outlets has not decreased significantly. Although some businesses are transferred from offline to online, outlets serve as physical channels for bank marketing. , Is essential to customers.

  The outlets improve their own service level through intelligence, innovate business development, collect customer data, and provide non-financial functions through light weighting, creating "pan-functional" outlets.

  The bank also gradually shifted its offline outlets from “one point, one policy” to “one point, one policy”, and established a reasonable planning plan for branch transformation, combining the bank’s development strategy, the characteristics of the branch’s customer population, and the branch’s own resource endowments to classify the branches. Give full play to the advantages of outlets and realize the value of outlets resources.

  "In the long run, outlets will face a painful adjustment process. Banks that are good at seizing opportunities and working hard to adapt to the market environment are expected to seize the opportunity to achieve better development." Li Qilin said.

  Our reporter Li He