A new report by consultancy group Kearney says a quarter of bank branches in Europe are set to close in the next three years; Coronavirus is set to make the trend of digital banking permanent according to the report as people and small businesses were forced to move digital; 70 percent of all European account openings, lending, credit card applications and deposits are happening online while branches are closed; prior to the current crisis 53 percent of European banking customers used digital channels with more than 70 percent in Sweden, Norway and the UK; Simon Kent, Partner and Global Head of Financial Services at Kearney, tells Crowdfund Insider, “The Covid-19 pandemic was the catalyst needed for many changes already underway in the banking industry and has significantly accelerated demand for these changes to happen quickly. Customers won’t go back to how things were, so neither should banks.” CrowdFund Insider
