In recent years, the banking industry has undergone a radical transformation of its business model, justified by the digital revolution that resulted in the closure of hundreds of branches and the departure of thousands of employees. Now, the industry is keeping waves of mass workforce departures behind and strengthening in specific areas to respond to the new challenges. According to data provided to DN/Dinheiro Vivo by the largest banks, they hired nearly 400 people in the first six months of the year, mainly in the technological but also commercial fields.
The reinforcement of the workforce for these functions is happening at the same time as the total number of employees continues to shrink, albeit at a slower pace. Looking at the figures in the accounts for the first half of BPI, CGD, Millennium BCP, Novo Banco and Santander, the total number of branches is down 5.4% to about 2,270. A trend that is largely the 1% decline in the workforce of these financial institutions and is driven by digital transformation. Taking into account the data of the last five years, according to statistics from the Portuguese Banking Association (APB), 883 branches have been closed and 5633 employees have been cut off. At the end of 2021, the sector had 3,529 branches across the country and 37,759 employees. This is despite the fact that the sector is making a profit.
Digital has changed consumption habits and the financial sector has been one of those at the center of the revolution. Many customers no longer use the physical branches of banks, preferring to carry out their transactions from anywhere, including in the comfort of their home, with a simple click on the computer and smartphone. To respond to the increasing interest of consumers in having their bank in their pocket, financial institutions have launched their own applications and expanded their functionalities.
To differentiate themselves and face this new competition to face the competition, banks have increased their investments in technology, with most of the new employees being hired for this department. But not alone.
For example, BCP hired more than 70 people in Portugal in the first half of the year, “the vast majority for areas related to digital transformation and also for the areas called “second and third lines of defence”, i.e. risk offices , compliance office and audit,” an official source from the bank headed by Miguel Maya told DN/Dinheiro Vivo.
The number of branches of BPI, CGD, Millennium BCP, Novo Banco and Santander fell by 5.4% in the first six months of the year to 2,270.
BPI also hired 70 people. Asked in what areas, the institution clarified that the reinforcements were mainly “young people, for commercial activities, artificial intelligence, data analysis and internal control”.
Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) expanded its team to nearly 100 employees during the first half of the year, aiming to “strengthen the teams’ skills, especially in the technology, compliance, regulatory and commercial fields ” . , among others”. A move that the public bank believes will “allow it to maintain its competitiveness to respond to new challenges, and thus be better prepared to respond to current and future challenges,” added the financial institution to it.
Santander has not specified how many people it has hired this year, but only considers that it expects more than 100 hires by 2022 “within the STEM profile”, that is, in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
In turn, Crédito Agrícola revealed that it has already hired about 120 people in the first half of 2022. In this case, “the vast majority of the withdrawals were for commercial areas,” added the bank’s official source.
Novo Banco and Banco Montepio did not answer the questions. The bank owned by Associação Mutualista Montepio Geral has an ongoing program to slim down its staff until 2023. And as the president of the association recently confirmed in an interview with Dinheiro Vivo, Virgílio Lima, the restructuring plan is not yet completed and is being expect more workers to leave.
In the case of Novo Banco, in order to meet the Brussels targets under the restructuring plan that should have ended at the end of last year, but has not yet received the green light from the European Commission, in six years it has closed 226 branches and reduced in 1903 the number of workers.
Source: DN
