The amount of deposits held at "cyber" branches of banks and thrifts nationwide is on the decline for the first time in a decade, according to a recent SNL Financial analysis.

The FDIC defines cyber branches as Web sites where customers can open accounts, apply for loans, transfer funds and make other types of electronic transactions.

Between June 30, 2009, and June 30, 2010, cyber deposits fell 2.4 percent to $132.4 billion. Bucking the national trend was ING Groep NV, the largest online banking presence in the nation, which saw its deposits grow 3.5 percent to $77.4 billion.

The number of branches classified by the FDIC as cyber and holding at least $1,000 of deposits dipped to 120 branches from 124 a year earlier.

The reduction in online branches follows the trend in the broader banking sector, where the overall branch count in the nation trickled down 1 percent between 2009 and 2010, according to SNL.

The amount of online deposits also declined as a percentage of overall deposits. Deposits held at all financial institutions nationwide, including nonretail branches, rose 1.5 percent year-over-year to roughly $7.7 trillion, according to the FDIC. Online deposits represented only 1.7 percent of this amount as of June 30, down from 1.8 percent of $7.6 trillion in total deposits a year ago.