Examination of the Territorial Location and Clustering of the Hungarian Bank Branch Network in the Midst of the European Bank Branch Closure Trend in 2020

Abstract

In the European Union as a whole, we have seen a significant decrease in the number of bank branches in  recent years, in connection with which the issue of spatial availability of bank branches in Hungary arises. The study  examines the spatial autocorrelation and clustering of the  location of Hungarian bank branches with global and local  Moran’s I statistics and Getis-Ord’s Gi * hotspot analysis.  Based on the results, the number of bank branches in  Hungary is autocorrelated positively at the settlement level  according to the situation in January 2020. In terms of the  number of bank branches, the settlements are organized  into clusters, where Budapest and its catchment area are a  major junction, similar to which is not found elsewhere in  the country. Extensive cold spots were primarily identified  in the Western and Southern Transdanubia regions, as well  as in the border areas of Northern Hungary and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County.