In 2025, Russian banks sharply accelerated the closure of branches across the country. A total of about 1,700 offices were liquidated, which is 3.6 times more than a year earlier. The figure was one of the highest over the observation period since 2019 and a record since 2021, when just over 1,700 branches were closed. As a result, by the beginning of 2026, the number of bank branches had dropped to 22,300 compared to 30,000 seven years ago. This follows from the data of the Central Bank, which were studied by “Izvestia”.
The largest part of the reductions last year fell on “Sber”, which closed more than 900 offices — almost twice as many as in 2024. At the same time, this bank plays a key role in ensuring the availability of banking services in remote regions. The Central Bank noted that the high number of closures is due to the fact that credit organizations are increasingly transferring services to a remote format to reduce costs and increase profitability. At the same time, the regulator stressed that when closing branches in small settlements, banks should provide alternative “physical” service points due to temporary internet outages. Moreover, due to sanctions against most Russian banks, people often need to visit a branch in person to install applications and maintain access to remote services (The Moscow Times).
