Malta banking sector holds firm

Times of Malta 07/11/2013: Malta and Luxembourg were the only two countries in the eurozone which did not see any decrease in the number of credit institutions between 2008 and 2012, according to a report issued this week by the European Central Bank.

There was a decrease of 10 per cent in the number of credit institutions, from 2,909 to 2,645, with Greece, Spain and Portugal seeing the largest decreases. Pronounced declines were also noted in France, Italy, and Cyprus.

At the end of 2012, the eurozone had 171,477 bank branches, a decline of over 16,200 units (8.7 per cent).

Banking sector assets in the eurozone on a consolidated basis, excluding very small entities, had dropped by almost 12 per cent compared with 2008. The assets stood at €29.5 trillion, with the major part of the adjustment taking place in 2009 as the crisis...read on.