Number of banks in France: 22,500 branches in 2026

How many banks are there in France?#

There is no single total across all units: the number of banks in France depends on what you count. For branches, the most recent published figure, according to Infostat (a market research company), is 35,711 at the end of 2025, compared with 36,422 at the end of 2024, brokers included.

Three units are commonly used, and each gives its own figure: licensed entities; business locations listed in Sirene (Insee's business register; Insee is France's national statistics office); and branches open to the public. A figure without its unit cannot be compared with anything.

On the branch side, the decline is clear: 711 branches and physical outlets closed in 2025, nearly 2% of the network. The data come from Infostat, reported by moneyvox in May 2026.

Our branch figure is our own count, not one borrowed from another source: about 22,500 branches open in mainland France, including Corsica, excluding post offices, standalone ATMs and brokers. Level 2 explains how we got it.

Which figure for which offer?#

The right answer depends on what you sell:

323, 653, 33,024, 35,711: why the figures differ#

All these figures are correct. They do not measure the same thing, or measure it on the same date.

Credit institution, bank, payment institution: what each figure counts#

In legal terms, a bank is one of the categories of credit institution. A credit institution is a company authorized to take deposits and lend. It can only operate with a license.

This license is granted by the ECB, on a draft decision from the ACPR, the supervisory authority attached to the Banque de France (France's central bank). The ACPR also keeps the list of license withdrawals, for credit institutions as well as for e-money institutions.

The total therefore varies with where you draw the line. Do you count payment institutions, which have their own status? Specialized subsidiaries of the same group?

Each source draws its line in a different place, and the figures found online do not match. According to the ACPR annual report, 323 credit institutions are licensed as of December 31, 2025 (306 in France, 17 in Monaco), compared with 327 a year earlier.

A finance company lends but does not take deposits: the French Monetary and Financial Code defines it as a legal entity “other than credit institutions” that carries out lending operations “within the conditions and limits defined by [its] license.” A payment institution executes payments (transfers, cards); an e-money institution issues electronic money. Neither lends like a bank. Neobanks and the bank accounts sold over the counter in French tobacco shops often fall under these statuses.

For anyone selling to banks, these figures count head offices: 323 credit institutions to approach; on the branch side, 92 companies each hold 10 branches or more (level 5).

Bank branches: what the 35,711 count#

This figure mixes branches and physical outlets, brokers included. It does not say how many actual bank branches remain open.

The networks themselves make the distinction. Société Générale reported 1,869 sites at the end of December 2025, including 1,325 branches, according to Les Echos, as reported by moneyvox. Depending on whether you count sites or branches, the same network changes size markedly.

We counted, network by network, the branches estimated from public listings in November 2026, and compared them with published figures. By group, the counts are close; network by network, the gaps reflect what each one calls a branch:

Our count for SG follows its sites (1,869) rather than its retail branches (1,325): it also includes its business banking and private banking branches, which our definition counts. Between Caisse d'Épargne and Banque Populaire, the network is read from the listing's name: their combined total (BPCE) is more reliable than the split between them. Our column starts from open public listings categorized as banks under the network's name, corrected by the sample of 148 locations: 95.7% of these listings are an open branch. It thus counts 18,886 branches; the 3,659 other branches in the total, found outside these listings, are not broken down by network.

The six levels of the banking market#

As in our study of auto repair shops, we read the market in levels. The first two go from the broadest to the most precise; the next four slice the same branches in four ways: channel, group, company, territory. Each level answers a seller's question: how many targets, who decides, where.

Level 1. The broad universe: 65,517 banking locations#

We start from every location in the Scalon graph that a source links to banking: a public listing categorized as a “bank,” a listing in the business directory under “Banks,” or an active business location registered in Sirene under code 64.19Z (the code for banks and savings banks, but not only them). Once the listings for the same location are merged in the Scalon graph (our database, which matches listings of the same location from different sources), 65,517 remain, including 953 in the overseas territories.

This universe mixes many things: branches, but also post offices, account sales points in tobacco shops, ATMs, insurance agencies that also sell banking products, head offices, and caisses locales (local cooperative entities) registered at a branch's address.

Level 2. Bank branches: about 22,500#

In this study, a bank branch is a place where a credit institution receives its customers with advisers: individuals, professionals, businesses or private banking clients. A standalone ATM, a post office, a broker or an insurance agency is not a branch.

To go from the universe to this count, we drew 148 locations at random from the categories in the previous table and had them checked twice, independently, on the web: the bank's website, public listings, local press. The two readings agree on the status of 122 locations out of 148; Scalon settled the others from the evidence.

The sample leaves some uncertainty: the total lies between 20,121 and 24,969 branches, with only a one-in-twenty chance of falling outside that range.

In practice: most branches have a public listing categorized as a bank, under their network's name. The other rows add 3,659 branches, often business banking branches or less visible small banks.

Level 3. Channel: mutual networks or commercial banks#

The channel and group breakdowns cover the 22,545 estimated branches. For listings of known networks, the network is read from the name (95.7% of these listings are an open branch); for the 3,659 other branches, it comes from the branches confirmed by the sample. Territory, for its part, is read from the 21,460 open public listings categorized as banks, which we call “listed branches” from here on.

A mutual or cooperative bank is owned by its member customers, grouped into local and regional entities: Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, Banque Populaire, Caisse d'Épargne. A commercial bank is a shareholder-owned corporation: BNP Paribas, SG, LCL, CIC.

Of the 22,545 estimated branches, 14,778 belong to the mutual or cooperative networks: nearly two branches in three (65.5%). This is the key segment for suppliers: about 14,800 branches (between 13,189 and 16,367), which depend on several dozen regional banks and caisses (39 regional banks, known as caisses régionales, for Crédit Agricole alone, 14 Banques Populaires, 15 Caisses d'Épargne). For a supplier, the difference matters: a caisse régionale is a separate company, with its own head office, whereas at BNP Paribas or SG a single company holds almost all the branches (level 5).

Level 4. Groups: more than nine branches in ten in five groups#

In banking, there is almost no “independent” branch in the retail sense: every branch belongs to a licensed institution, and more than nine branches in ten belong to one of the five major groups. Market structure is therefore read by group.

Banks outside the five groups hold only 6.2% of branches, an approximate figure: outside the major networks, it rests on only a few sampled locations. They are often small, targeted networks: regional banks, private banks, banks of Portuguese or Moroccan origin, municipal credit banks. Online banks have no branches and are not part of this count.

Level 5. Networks and companies: who signs the contracts#

In the Sirene register, each branch is a business location of a company. We found 14,452 of the 21,460 listed branches in the register (67.3%). They belong to 2,111 companies, but 92 companies with 10 or more branches hold 82.3% of them.

The same company can appear in two rows when the name of one of its branches points to another network: the total counts each company once.

In practice: at BNP Paribas or SG, a single company holds almost all the branches. At BPCE, about thirty regional banks (14 Banques Populaires, 15 Caisses d'Épargne) share the network. At Crédit Agricole, hundreds of caisses locales are registered at their branch's address, but the branch depends on one of the 39 caisses régionales. At Crédit Mutuel, the caisses locales (1,818 for the group) are themselves cooperative banks, attached to regional federations.

Level 6. Where are the branches?#

Mainland France has 3.21 listed branches per 10,000 residents. Paris has the most (1,012), ahead of the Nord (718), the Rhône (623) and the Bouches-du-Rhône (587), all of them departments (départements, the French administrative areas roughly comparable to U.S. counties).

Per resident, the map flips. Rural departments often have more branches per 10,000 residents than the Paris suburbs: the Nièvre (4.87), the Gers (4.46) or the Lozère (4.31) versus Seine-Saint-Denis (1.7) or Val-d'Oise (2.22). Paris is the exception (4.81), with its neighborhood branches and its business branches.

Municipalities. 4,837 of 34,836 municipalities have at least one branch (13.9%). Yet they are home to 70.4% of residents. Among municipalities under 2,000 residents, only one in twenty-five has one (4.1%).

For a supplier, this tells you where to plan field visits: more than half of branches (56.9%) are in municipalities of 5,000 to 100,000 residents, and Paris alone has 1,012.

A network that is closing branches#

Infostat counts 711 branches and broker outlets closed in 2025. By network, according to the same source: 183 branches closed at SG, 120 at Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, 106 at Crédit Agricole, 80 at Caisse d'Épargne, 76 at BNP Paribas, 41 at Banque Populaire. The trend continues: according to AFP, SG plans to close 148 sites, including 40 branches, starting in 2027.

The Sirene register shows the same downward trend over ten years. Under code 64.19Z (the code for banks and savings banks, but not only them), 12,381 business locations were closed in the register from 2016 to 2025, against 7,460 created: 4,921 fewer locations. A register entry is not always a branch (head office, caisse locale, change of address), but the direction is the same.

For a supplier, a closure is also a business opportunity: a move, two branches merging, refurbishing premises. In our sample, 2 of the 46 open public listings drawn from the major networks turned out to belong to branches that had already closed.

How big is a bank branch?#

A branch is a small site. Of the 21,460 listed branches, 14,452 are found in the Sirene register, and 11,207 have a known headcount there. Of those, nearly two in three employ 3 to 9 people (64.4%).

In practice: you deliver to a team of a few advisers and a branch manager, but it is the company that holds the branch (level 5) that signs the contract. A branch's revenue is not published: banks file accounts by company, not by branch, and we did not measure their banking income.

What is the revenue of the banking sector?#

In banking, revenue is called net banking income. For the six largest French banking groups, it reached €167.5 billion in 2025, up 5.6%, according to the ACPR. For the whole sector, the ACPR put it at €173 billion in 2024.

Spread over about 22,500 branches, this figure does not tell you what a branch earns: it also includes corporate banking, capital markets activities and international activities. It does tell you the size of the groups you sell to.

Counting banks in Sirene: what the NAF code can and cannot do#

Sirene does not count licenses. It counts business locations: each place of business, with its SIRET number (the fourteen-digit ID of that location).

To isolate banks, you filter by NAF code (the French activity classification code). Code 64.19Z, “Other monetary intermediation,” covers taking deposits and granting credit. Insee states that it is generally carried out by banks, savings banks and Crédit Mutuel-type cooperative banks.

“Generally” matters here. The code covers other intermediaries too: 64.19Z alone does not mean bank. A serious count therefore states the codes it uses, its exclusions and the release date of the register.

The register of September 24, 2026 lists 30,559 active business locations under this code, including 29,936 in mainland France, for 5,556 companies. This figure does not count branches: 4,446 of these companies have only one location, often a caisse locale registered at a branch's address. Conversely, one listed branch in three (32.7%) was not found in the register under this code. The register identifies the company that holds the branch; it does not count branches.

The NAF classification is also being revised: a code valid today may change its label tomorrow. NAF 2025 takes effect on January 1, 2027; code 64.19Z becomes 64.19Y, with a near-identical label, “Other monetary intermediation.”

How can you use these figures for a market study?#

Size an addressable market#

Start from the unit you sell. An offer for head offices targets 323 credit institutions, and in practice the 92 companies that each hold 10 or more branches. An offer for branches targets about 22,500 sites in mainland France. Do not mix the two: multiplying a branch price by 323 understates the market; multiplying a head-office price by 22,500 inflates it.

Build your sales segmentation#

Segment by group, then by company: 93.8% of branches belong to five groups, and 92 companies with 10 or more branches hold 82.3% of them. The company that holds the branches is the one that signs: that is who you need to convince.

Tailor your strategy by area#

Branches follow the population, with more sites per resident in rural departments. If you work on site, count your branches in the table by department (level 6), and target municipalities of 5,000 residents and more first: 88.6% to 100% of them have at least one branch.

Track a changing market#

The network loses branches every year, and closures are decided in waves, network by network. A file dated last year already contains closed branches: redo the count before a campaign.

How do you build a prospect list of bank branches?#

1. Choose the unit: head office, regional company or branch. A prospect list of branches does not have the same columns as a list of head offices.
2. Start from public listings: they give the address of every listed branch and the phone number of 95.7% of them. Only one listing in five links to a website (21.1%).
3. Link each branch to its company through the Sirene register: the company is the one that signs.
4. Remove duplicates and look-alikes: post offices, ATMs, brokers, insurance agencies, caisses locales without their own counter.
5. Date the list and check announced closures before calling.

Frequently asked questions#

How many banks does France have?#

At the end of 2025, the ACPR lists 323 credit institutions in France and Monaco, including 138 banks and 76 mutual or cooperative banks. In terms of branches, mainland France has about 22,500 open in November 2026, according to Scalon.

How many bank branches are there in France?#

About 22,500 bank branches open in mainland France in November 2026, without post offices or brokers (Scalon). The ECB counted 33,024 at the end of 2024 for all of France, and Infostat 35,711 at the end of 2025, brokers included.

Who supervises banks in France?#

The ACPR, attached to the Banque de France, supervises banks and reviews their license applications; the ECB grants credit institution licenses, on a proposal from the ACPR.

What is the difference between a bank and a payment institution?#

A bank takes deposits and lends. A payment institution executes payments without lending like a bank; it has its own license. The ACPR counted 58 of them at the end of 2025.

What are the largest branch networks?#

Of the 22,545 estimated branches, the largest groups are Crédit Agricole with LCL (about 7,245 branches, 32.1%), BPCE with the Caisses d'Épargne and the Banques Populaires (6,262), and Crédit Mutuel with CIC (4,175). Among the branches estimated from the public listings of known networks alone, the largest network under a single brand is that of the Crédit Agricole regional banks (about 4,951 branches). The 3,659 branches estimated outside these listings are not broken down by network.

What is the market share of the major banking groups?#

In branches, Crédit Agricole with LCL holds 32.1%, BPCE 27.8%, Crédit Mutuel with CIC 18.5%, SG 9.4% and BNP Paribas 6% (Scalon, November 2026). By balance sheet size at the end of 2024, among the six major groups: BNP Paribas 27.6%, Crédit Agricole 24.8%, BPCE 16.6%, Société Générale 16.0%, Crédit Mutuel 11.3%, La Banque Postale 3.7% (ACPR). The two rankings differ: BNP Paribas has a large balance sheet but relatively few branches in France.

How many municipalities have no bank branch?#

29,999 municipalities in mainland France have none, out of 34,836. They are mostly small municipalities: together they are home to less than a third of residents.

Method#

Key takeaways#

• The ACPR lists 323 credit institutions in France and Monaco (end of 2025).
• Mainland France has about 22,500 bank branches open in November 2026.
• 93.8% of branches belong to five groups; about 14,800 to the mutual networks, where each regional bank or caisse is a separate company.
• 4,837 municipalities have at least one branch; they are home to 70.4% of residents.
• Among branches with a known headcount, nearly two in three employ 3 to 9 people.

Cite this study#

Scalon, “Number of banks in France: 22,500 branches in 2026,” Scalon Observatory, November 9, 2026, https://scalon.fr/en/observatory/number-of-banks-in-france.

Sources#

• ACPR, rapport annuel 2025 (21 mai 2026)
• ACPR, rapport annuel 2024, via vie-publique.fr (14 mai 2025)
• ACPR, autoriser les établissements
• Code monétaire et financier, article L511-1, Légifrance
• Banque de France, fiche 221 (13 février 2024)
• FGDR, chiffres clés (mai 2026)
• FBF, communiqué du 14 avril 2026
• Moneyvox, fermetures d'agences 2025, d'après Infostat (mai 2026)
• Franceinfo, agences bancaires selon la BCE (10 août 2025)
• AFP via TradingView, agences bancaires (5 août 2025)
• AFP via Boursorama, projet de fermetures SG (5 novembre 2026)
• FNBP, rapport d'activités 2025
• CIC, qui sommes-nous
• Crédit Agricole, rapport intégré 2025-2026 (mai 2026)
• BPCE, rapport annuel 2025
• ACPR, listes des retraits d'agrément 2026
• ACPR, la situation des grands groupes bancaires français à fin 2025 (7 juillet 2026)
• ACPR, la situation des grands groupes bancaires français à fin 2024
• ACPR, les chiffres du marché français de la banque et de l'assurance 2024 (23 octobre 2025)
• Insee, sous-classe 64.19Z (mise à jour du 19 décembre 2025)
• Décret n° 2025-736 du 31 juillet 2025 (NAF 2025), Légifrance
• Sirene register, establishment and legal-unit files of September 24, 2026 (Insee); legal population (API Géo); public business listings and business directory read by Scalon on November 9, 2026.