Four of the largest banks operating in Mexico cut 4,130 jobs between July 2025 and July 2026, according to an analysis by El CEO based on data from the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV). Santander accounted for the largest decline, with 2,292 fewer positions.
The CNBV publishes each month the occupied personnel and the branch network of every bank, the record that tracks formal employment in the financial sector. The staffing adjustment comes in a year in which private banking closed 492 branches and eliminated 7,408 positions, according to La Jornada, which reported on September 29 that sector personnel fell from 275,819 to 268,411 workers. For families that depend on a bank salary and for regions where the branch is the only financial counter, the figure measures more than a corporate balance sheet. In the same report, La Jornada cites an Nvidia study according to which 65% of the world's banking firms already use artificial intelligence, and mentions the arrival of digital banks such as Plata, Ualá and Revolut.
The breakdown by institution shows movement in both directions. Santander went from 24,365 to 22,073 employees; HSBC, from 13,120 to 11,635; Citi México closed July with 2,762 employees; and Inbursa, Carlos Slim's bank, with 3,679. Banamex added 2,629 positions and reached 33,425; Banorte added 840, for 30,519; BBVA México 707, for 45,268; and Scotiabank 114, for 9,409. On balance, the eight most systemically important banks closed July with 158,770 employees, 160 more than a year earlier. The reduction in staff goes hand in hand with branch closures: HSBC went from 803 to 600 over the year, Inbursa from 621 to 556 and Santander from 1,003 to 962, according to El CEO.
The CNBV updates these figures every month in its statistical bulletin, with a breakdown by bank and by state. The next release will show whether the staffing adjustment at Santander, HSBC, Citi and Inbursa holds, or whether the banks that hired over the past year set the pace for the sector.
This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.
