• 47 percent of SMEs visited a bank or savings bank at least once in 2024, fewer than ever before
• The trend has been negative for years but has slowed
• On average, it takes nearly 17 minutes to get to a branch - and can be considerably longer in eastern Germany

It is becoming increasingly rare for small and medium-sized enterprises to visit a bank branch in Germany. In 2024, for the first time fewer than half of companies, specifically 47 percent, attended at least one business appointment in a bank or savings bank branch. Three years earlier, it was 50 percent, and in 2017 it was 65 percent. The downturn in branch visits therefore continues, but the momentum has slowed compared to previous surveys.

Expressed in absolute figures: 1.8 million SMEs visited a bank or savings bank branch in 2024 - 60,000 fewer than in 2021 and 620,000 fewer than in 2017. Companies that still visited a branch did so 3.15 times on average. For 2024, this equated a total of around 5.7 million business appointments between SMEs and financial institutions, which is around 700,000 less than in 2021 and almost four million less than in 2017.

These are the results of a special analysis by KfW's SME Panel. Small and medium-sized enterprises from all sectors of the economy with an annual turnover of up to EUR 500 million are surveyed for the representative SME Panel.

There are many reasons for the decline in in-branch contact.

"The willingness of SMEs to make any investments at all has been stagnating for many years. When companies do invest, they are increasingly foregoing bank financing. As a result, they also need less contact with credit institutions,"

said Dr Dirk Schumacher, Chief Economist at KfW. Furthermore,

"Banks and savings banks are becoming increasingly digital, and companies are increasingly asking for digital solutions. This also eliminates the need to visit branches."

Another reason might be that the number of bank branches has been shrinking for years. Since the turn of the millennium, banks and savings banks in Germany have closed 69 percent of their branches. This includes branches and locations with self-service terminals and additional in-person consultation options.

As a result, it has become somewhat more time-consuming for small and medium-sized companies to get to a branch – however, the additional effort is moderate. In 2024, an owner of an SME needed an average of 16.7 minutes to go from their company office to the nearest branch, compared to 15.5 minutes in 2021. The differences between urban and rural areas are small. In urban areas, companies needed an average of 16.5 minutes, while in rural areas it was 17.1 minutes.

The disparity between federal states, on the other hand, is greater. Especially in the eastern German states, people have to travel significantly longer distances to their nearest bank branch. Almost 23 minutes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg - just over 13 minutes in Bremen, just over 15 minutes in Hamburg and Bavaria.

The full study can be found under Focus on Economics | KfW.

You can download a graphic showing the disparity between the federal states at Map of Germany - travel length(JPG, 313 KB) (only available in German).