Bank desertification worries the citizens of Liguria and the union. The data emerge from the Uilca 2025 Report, from which the regional data were extracted, by the Ligurian secretary of Uilca (an acronym that represents, among others, bank employees), Silvio Trucco. Among the most significant data, it emerges that 75.8% of Ligurians use exclusively the bank to manage their money, the fifth highest figure in Italy and, says Trucco, «a sign of a still very strong relationship with the traditional banking system».
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The reduction of branches is also perceived as a concrete problem: 76% of Ligurian citizens declare that they have been very or quite affected by the closure of branches, placing Liguria among the regions most affected by this phenomenon. Even more evident is the value attributed to banking services in the territories: 97.1% of Ligurians believe that the presence of banking services in a municipality is very or quite important, the fourth national figure. At the same time, the negative judgment towards the reduction of branches grows: 95.4% of Ligurian citizens declare themselves little or not at all satisfied with the closure of bank branches, «one of the highest values recorded in the country», concludes Trucco.
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«An ATM cannot replace a branch»
According to the vast majority of Liguria’s inhabitants, moreover, an ATM cannot replace a branch: 91.3% believe that the presence of staff and consultancy represents an essential added value, the third national figure. And, if their branch were to close, more than half of Ligurian citizens (50.9%) would still choose to go to another bank branch, rather than rely exclusively on digital services. The report also highlights how the presence of the bank is considered an element of territorial cohesion: 75.4% of Ligurians believe that the lack of a bank can influence the choice to live in or leave their municipality, «sixth national figure».
The Uilca 2025 Report, Trucco argues, «returns the image of a Liguria that considers the bank much more than a place to carry out financial operations: it is a stronghold of inclusion, security, and local development. In a context characterized by an aging population, internal areas, and small municipalities, the progressive reduction of branches risks accentuating phenomena of territorial marginalization and impoverishment of proximity services. For this reason, the collected data indicate the need to identify new organizational models, capable of maintaining a physical banking presence in the territory, combining digital innovation and human relationship. So that the technological transition does not translate into a setback of services for citizens and businesses».
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