Between mergers and acquisitions, technological transformation, digital, AI, Europe has lost 921,903 bankers from 2010 to 2025, according to a reworking of ECB data, carried out by the Fabi union. For the general secretary, Lando Maria Sileoni, “this is the figure that best captures the transformation of European credit.” In 15 years the sector went from 3,052,370 employees to 2,130,467, with a decrease of about 30%.
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The concentration of credit
The 2008 financial crisis marked the turning point, with the start of a deep reorganization in all the main European countries. Also in Italy. “The banks that joined Abi in 2010 were 760, while in 2025 they became 420, mainly due to mergers,” says Sileoni. New balances are still being defined, with operations such as the takeover bid launched by the Intesa Sanpaolo group, led by Carlo Messina, on Mps. This was followed by Mps’s reaction with the offer on Banco Bpm and Banca Generali.
The risiko and the contract renewal
September promises to be a very intense month for the sector, also on the front of renewing the labor contract expired in March (the next meeting will be on September 24), on which Sileoni reiterated the need to proceed swiftly: “The risiko cannot become an excuse, between 2022 and 2025 banks made 160 billion euros in profits. All the people working in banks contributed to these extraordinary results, so the average increase of 518 euros that we asked for is more than justifiable because it combines inflation recovery and also the greater productivity of banks.”
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The decline of branches in Europe
Behind the contraction of employment there is also that of the European banking network, which is due to the greater concentration of the sector and a business model that focuses heavily on multichannel and digital. From 2010 to 2025, over 106,000 branches disappeared in Europe (-46%), a decline even more marked than that of employment.
Restructurings in Germany
Germany was the first to start restructuring and continues to reduce staff. It is the country with the most significant employment decline: it has 255,351 fewer banking employees (-33%) in the period between 2000 and 2025. Over 60% of the reduction was already concentrated before 2010, a sign that the sector’s restructuring process had started well in advance compared to other major European countries. The data reflects the progressive consolidation of a banking system historically characterized by a high number of institutions, with a strong presence of local savings banks, regional banks, and cooperative credit.
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