In addition, rural banks as a sector continue to hold the lion’s share of the banking industry’s network in the countryside. For instance, while the ongoing consolidation in the banking sector reduced the number of rural banks by 4% – from 658 in 2008 to 631 in 2009 – the branching network showed a significant 45% increase – from 1,362 to 1,974 branches.
Equally important, rural banks continue to expand their non-traditional service delivery channels. Between 2008 and 2009, the number of rural banks with Automatic Teller Machines – or ATMs – increased from 113 to 119 while rural banks providing electronic banking services moved up from 47 to 52.