By David Jackson
Three out of every 10 bank branches in Almería province have closed in the last four years, according to a recent study by trades union CCOO.
Almería has lost 216 branch offices, or 31 per cent of the 2008 total, 25 of which closed last year. Almost 3,000 job losses have occurred as a result. Although this is in line with other Andalusian provinces, it is a higher percentage than the national rate of closure.
CCOO said banks were not expected to pick up on hiring, and asked whether the continued closure of branch offices was due to the need to increase bank profits, rather than being a natural tendency of the evolution into a digital economy.
