Chinese banks cut branches at a faster pace as costs bite and digital banking grows in popularity

Chinese banks are accelerating the pace of bank branch closures this year as they seek to ramp up digital services and reduce costs. Mainland lenders have closed 430 bricks-and-mortar locations in the first three months of this year, mainland media reported citing the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, that’s at a faster clip than 1,300 closures last year. The country already boasts one of the world’s highest rates for transactions completed away from physical bank locations, known as “off-counter rates”. These transactions, which include online and mobile banking, rose 12 per cent in 2020, topping 2,308 trillion yuan (US$352.5…