Austria is a paradise for banks

There are more than 800 banks and 10 000 inhabitants per bank Austria. This is the third highest density in the EU. But with only about 2 000 inhabitants per bank branch Austria`s level is below the EU average (more than 2 100 inhabitants).

In the EU only two other countries have more banks than Austria: Cyprus has the highest density in the EU with 3 600 inhabitants per bank followed by Luxemburg with little more than 3 000 inhabitants per bank. The lowest density in the EU can be found in Romania and Bulgaria. More than 500 000 inhabitants have to share one bank in Romania, more than 260 000 inhabitants in Bulgaria respectively.

Austria has more than 800 financial institutes with more than 4 200 branch banks. Compared to other countries there can be found a lot of countrywide retail banks in Austria, like Bank Austria, Erste Bank, Bawag/PSK, Sparkassen, Volksbanken and Hypobanks. Some of these banks have also a high credit risk due to their engagement in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

Especially in the course of the financial crisis more and more are demanding a stronger consolidation process in the Austrian banking sector. Generally, this sector is more concentrated in small countries than in larger countries according to the last report on EU banking structures of the European Central Bank. In this context Austria is a remarkable exception. Many saving banks (Sparkassen) and cooperative banks (Genossenschaften) are fragmenting the bank landscape.