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As of August 2025, there were a total of 5,450 monetary financial institutions (MFIs) operating across the 27 countries of the European Union, of which the majority were credit institutions (banks). The definition of MFIs according to the European Central Bank (ECB) is ''resident credit institutions as defined in European Union (EU) law and other resident financial institutions whose business is to receive deposits and/or close substitutes for deposits from entities other than MFIs and, for their own account (at least in economic terms), to grant credits and/or make investments in securities." 

The decreasing number of European banks

In 2025, Germany had more banks operating than any other European country. Germany has three main types of banks, which include commercial, savings (or Sparkassen) and cooperative banks. Overall, Europe has seen a continuing fall in the number of credit institutions since 2008. As a result, the European banking sector has seen a decline in the number of individuals employed.

Bank branches and ATM’s

With the consolidation and decline in banks operating in Europe, it is not surprising to see that the number of bank branches has also deteriorated since 2008. The same trend affected the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) in Europe, which saw a year-on-year decline between 2010 and 2022.