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Photo=Mirae Asset Securities |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] The number of brokerage branches in South Korea has dropped below 700. This is in response to the expansion of non-face-to-face trading and the increase in digital customers, prompting brokerage firms to accelerate the consolidation and closure of branches.
According to the Korea Financial Investment Association on Sunday, as of the end of the fourth quarter last year, the total number of branches for 61 domestic securities firms stood at 699. This marks a decrease of 161 branches from 860 in 2020, and the number has now fallen below the 700 mark.
The number of branches for the "Big 5" securities firms (Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities, NH Investment & Securities, and KB Securities) has been consistently declining. In 2020, the Big 5 had 355 branches, but by the end of last year, this number had dropped to 269, a decrease of 86 branches over four years, which is more than 20 branches per year on average.
Mirae Asset Securities lost its top spot in the number of branches. As of the end of last year, it had 61 branches, a decrease of 9 from 70 the previous year, the largest drop among the Big 5. As a result, KB Securities (68 branches) became the brokerage firm with the most branches in the industry. NH Investment & Securities (59 → 53 branches), Korea Investment & Securities (61 → 59 branches), and Samsung Securities (29 → 28 branches) also saw reductions in the number of branches.
The reduction in brokerage branches is attributed to the increase in digital customers and changes in the role of the securities industry. This trend is seen as a way to reorganize offline branches, redistribute resources, and improve cost efficiency.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
