According to the ECB, 511 EU financial institutions were closed by the end of 2012 with some 9,076 banks left. As for the Eurozone, the number of financial institutions shrank by 6% to 7,059.
The worst news came from Luxembourg, where 124 financial organizations shut down their doors. Luxembourg is followed by France that lost 105 banks and Italy which saw the number of banks diminish to 55.
The ECB experts do not think bankruptcies are the only reason for the wave of bank extinction; they suppose it might as well be driven by mergers and acquisitions.
When it comes to the percentage of extinct financial institutions, Slovakia appears to be the first with its 30% of banks that closed. Luxembourg with its 22% is ranked second, and France with its 9% takes the third place.
The number of European banks started dwindling in 1999, exactly when the Eurozone was established. Since then, it dropped by 28% (2,797).
It should be said that the financial core of the currency bloc is still made of Germany and France. German and French banks account for 42% of all transactions carried out within the Eurozone.
