Banks and financial groups
172 companies assessed. 63 of them, 36.6%, sit in the two least protected bands, against 53.3% across all 10,525 companies assessed.
The picture
The split in banking right now has almost nothing to do with AI directly and everything to do with scale, deposits, and licenses. State-backed lenders like State Bank of India, Krungthai, and Postal Savings Bank of China have the same protection through government backing and captive customer bases.
The damage is concentrated in a specific layer: digital wallets, neobanks, robo-advisors, and standalone lending apps that never built a moat beyond being first or cheap. Fi Money shut its banking business and got absorbed by Federal Bank. Tally is defunct, picked apart by LendingClub and Pagaya. Yiren Digital, CreditEase, and Lufax are all losing ground to Ant Group and better-capitalized Chinese platforms. Wealthfront's deposits fell 69% year over year as Schwab, Vanguard, and Fidelity undercut it on fee-free automated investing.
The deciding dynamic is simple: does the company hold deposits and a license that customers can't easily walk away from, or is it a thin layer sitting on top of someone else's money that a bigger platform can copy for free. The first group survives almost by default. The second group is getting absorbed one by one.
All 172 companies, most protected first
| Company | Standing |
|---|---|
| ABN AMRO Third-largest Dutch bank handling deposits, mortgages, and business lending across the Netherlands | Hard to displace |
| Axis Bank Axis Bank is India's third largest private bank by assets, offering loans, deposits, and payments | Hard to displace |
| Bajaj Finserv Bajaj Finserv runs India's largest non-bank lender plus insurance and asset management arms | Hard to displace |
| Bangkok Bank Thailand's largest bank by assets, with the country's biggest overseas branch network | Hard to displace |
| Bank of Baroda State-run Indian bank with 8,400+ branches, majority owned by the government | Hard to displace |
| Bank of Communications State-controlled Chinese bank, one of China's Big Six, majority owned by the Ministry of Finance | Hard to displace |
| Bank of Montreal (BMO) Canadian chartered bank with $1.5T in assets, part of the Big Six oligopoly | Hard to displace |
| Barclays UK global bank and card issuer with ~20M retail customers and full banking license | Hard to displace |
| BBVA Spanish multinational bank with 81M customers and €859B in assets across 25+ countries | Hard to displace |
| BNP Paribas Europe's largest bank by assets, universal banking across 64 countries | Hard to displace |
| Cathay Financial Holding Taiwan's largest financial holding group, spanning banking, life insurance, P&C, and securities | Hard to displace |
| China CITIC Bank State-linked Chinese bank running deposits, loans, and payments for consumers and firms | Hard to displace |
| China Merchants Bank China's largest joint-stock bank, serving 220M+ customers via licensed banking rails and wealth management | Hard to displace |
| Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Indian NBFC lending against vehicles, property, gold, and homes across rural and semi-urban India | Hard to displace |
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia Australia's largest retail bank, holding deposits, mortgages and payments for 18.2M customers | Hard to displace |
| Crédit Agricole France's largest cooperative bank and Europe's 3rd-biggest lender by assets | Hard to displace |
| CTBC Financial Holding Taiwan's largest financial holding company, spanning banking, insurance, and wealth management | Hard to displace |
| Danske Bank Danske Bank is Denmark's largest bank, serving Nordic retail, SME, and corporate clients | Hard to displace |
| DBS Bank DBS is Singapore's largest bank, running consumer, wealth, and institutional banking across Asia | Hard to displace |
| E.Sun Financial Holding Licensed Taiwanese bank holding group serving 8M+ retail customers, now absorbing Mercuries Life | Hard to displace |
| Empower Empower runs retirement recordkeeping and wealth management for 19.5M+ plan participants | Hard to displace |
| Envestnet Wealth management platform giving financial advisors trading, billing, and reporting infrastructure for $7T in assets | Hard to displace |
| Erste Group Bank Austrian bank running retail and corporate banking across Austria and Central/Eastern Europe | Hard to displace |
| Fidelity Investments Fidelity runs 401(k) recordkeeping, brokerage, and wealth management for 57 million customers | Hard to displace |
| Fubon Financial Holdings Taiwan's biggest financial group: banking, life and P&C insurance, securities, asset management | Hard to displace |
| Groww Groww is India's largest retail stockbroking and wealth management app. | Hard to displace |
| Hana Financial Group Hana Financial Group is South Korea's #3 bank by profit, running deposits, loans, and wealth management. | Hard to displace |
| IG Group IG Group runs online CFD, spread betting, and investing platforms for retail and institutional traders | Hard to displace |
| ING Group ING is a Dutch universal bank with 40.8M customers and a full banking license across Europe | Hard to displace |
| Intesa Sanpaolo Italy's largest bank by assets, running branches, lending, and wealth management nationwide | Hard to displace |
| Itaú Unibanco Largest private bank in Brazil and Latin America, running a R$1.5 trillion loan book | Hard to displace |
| Japan Post Bank Japan's postal savings bank, 24,000 branches, ~120 million deposit accounts | Hard to displace |
| Kakao Bank South Korea's largest digital-only bank, run inside the KakaoTalk app | Hard to displace |
| Kasikornbank Kasikornbank is Thailand's top-profit commercial bank and operator of K PLUS mobile banking. | Hard to displace |
| KB Financial Group South Korea's largest bank holding group, spanning retail banking, wealth, insurance, securities | Hard to displace |
| KBC Group Belgian bank-insurer serving retail, SME clients across Belgium and Central/Eastern Europe | Hard to displace |
| Krungthai Bank State-controlled Thai bank running government payments, pensions, and stimulus disbursement | Hard to displace |
| Lloyds Banking Group UK's biggest retail bank, running the largest mortgage book and 28 million customer accounts | Hard to displace |
| Macquarie Group Global financial services group: banking, infrastructure investing, asset management, 30+ markets | Hard to displace |
| Mega Financial Holding Taiwan's biggest financial holding company, core USD clearing and correspondent bank | Hard to displace |
| National Australia Bank One of Australia's Big Four banks, holding roughly a fifth of the country's system assets | Hard to displace |
| NatWest Group UK high street bank serving retail, commercial, and wealth customers under NatWest, RBS, and Ulster Bank brands | Hard to displace |
| Nomura Holdings Japan's largest investment bank and brokerage, spanning M&A advisory to retail wealth | Hard to displace |
| Nordea Bank Nordea is the largest Nordic bank, offering retail, corporate, and wealth banking across Scandinavia | Hard to displace |
| Postal Savings Bank of China State-owned Chinese bank running China's largest branch network through post offices | Hard to displace |
| Punjab National Bank Government-owned Indian bank with 10,000+ branches taking deposits and lending nationwide | Hard to displace |
| Rabobank Dutch cooperative bank dominating food and agribusiness lending worldwide | Hard to displace |
| Rakuten Bank Japan's largest online bank by deposits, wired into Rakuten's shopping and mobile ecosystem | Hard to displace |
| Royal Bank of Canada Canada's largest bank by market cap, running retail, wealth, and capital markets across North America | Hard to displace |
| Shinhan Financial Group Shinhan Financial Group runs banking, cards, securities and insurance across South Korea's Big Five. | Hard to displace |
| Shriram Finance NBFC lending to truck operators, MSMEs, and rural borrowers that banks skip | Hard to displace |
| SinoPac Financial Holdings Taiwan bank holding company running Bank SinoPac, SinoPac Securities and related units | Hard to displace |
| Société Générale French global bank spanning retail banking, corporate and investment banking, and asset services | Hard to displace |
| State Bank of India India's largest public sector bank, with 530 million customers and government backing | Hard to displace |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Japan's second-largest megabank, running SMBC's lending, trading, and wealth units | Hard to displace |
| Techcombank Techcombank is a licensed Vietnamese private bank serving affluent and business customers. | Hard to displace |
| Touch 'n Go eWallet Malaysia's dominant e-wallet, built on toll RFID and bank backing, not just a payments app | Hard to displace |
| Trade Republic German app for commission-free trading, investing, and banking, 10M+ users | Hard to displace |
| UniCredit Pan-European bank headquartered in Italy, ~€900bn assets, 13 markets | Hard to displace |
| Up Banking Up is an Australian digital bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bendigo & Adelaide Bank, serving 1.2M+ customers | Hard to displace |
| Vanguard Group Client-owned fund manager running $12T in index funds, ETFs, and retirement plans at cost | Hard to displace |
| VPBank VPBank is a listed Vietnamese commercial bank serving retail, SME, and corporate customers nationwide. | Hard to displace |
| Wealthnavi Japanese robo-advisor managing money automatically, now fully owned by MUFG Bank | Hard to displace |
| Wealthsimple Canadian app for investing, trading, tax filing, and banking, built as a bank alternative | Hard to displace |
| WeBank WeBank is China's first licensed digital-only bank, backed by Tencent, focused on micro-loans. | Hard to displace |
| Westpac Banking Corporation Australia's oldest bank, a Big Four lender with A$1.13 trillion in assets | Hard to displace |
| Yes Bank Indian private bank rebuilt after its 2020 near-collapse, now anchored by SMBC as top shareholder | Hard to displace |
| Yuanta Financial Holdings Taiwan financial holding company; largest ETF issuer, top margin lender, major brokerage | Hard to displace |
| Addi Colombian BNPL lender offering point-of-sale credit through merchant partners | Defensible for now |
| ANZ Group One of Australia's Big Four banks and the largest bank in New Zealand | Defensible for now |
| C6 Bank Brazilian digital bank with 40M customers, backed by JPMorgan at 46% | Defensible for now |
| Credit Karma Free credit scores and a lending marketplace with 140M+ members, owned by Intuit | Defensible for now |
| Endowus Singapore-based digital wealth platform managing CPF, SRS, and private wealth for 300,000+ clients | Defensible for now |
| Funding Circle UK online lender matching small business loans with institutional capital | Defensible for now |
| GMO Aozora Net Bank Japanese digital bank for SMEs and startups, jointly owned by GMO and Aozora Bank | Defensible for now |
| IDFC First Bank Indian universal bank serving 38 million customers with deposits, loans, and cards | Defensible for now |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank Kotak Mahindra Bank is India's fourth-largest private bank by assets, with lending, insurance, and asset management under one roof. | Defensible for now |
| Moneybox UK app for savings, ISAs, Lifetime ISA, and pensions holding regulated customer money | Defensible for now |
| Muthoot Finance India's largest gold-loan NBFC, lending cash against household gold jewelry nationwide | Defensible for now |
| OneMain Financial OneMain lends installment and auto loans to nonprime borrowers through 1,300+ US branches | Defensible for now |
| Orion Advisor Solutions Portfolio, billing, and compliance software platform for financial advisors | Defensible for now |
| PalmPay Nigerian mobile money app pre-installed on Tecno and Infinix phones, with agent-based cash network | Defensible for now |
| Scotiabank Scotiabank is Canada's third largest bank, holding $1.46T in assets under a federal charter. | Defensible for now |
| Sharesies NZ platform for buying fractional shares, ETFs, and KiwiSaver funds online | Defensible for now |
| Siam Commercial Bank Thailand's oldest bank, offering deposits, loans, and digital banking to millions. | Defensible for now |
| smallcase India's multi-broker marketplace for SEBI-registered thematic stock portfolios (smallcases) | Defensible for now |
| Standard Chartered UK bank running trade, wealth, and payments networks across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East | Defensible for now |
| Taishin Financial Holdings Taiwan bank/insurance/brokerage holding company, formed by 2025 Taishin-Shin Kong merger | Defensible for now |
| TD Bank Group TD Bank Group is a C$2.1T Canadian bank serving 28 million clients across Canada and the US | Defensible for now |
| Trading 212 Bulgarian-founded, commission-free stock and ETF trading app across Europe and UK | Defensible for now |
| Trust Bank Singapore digital bank backed by Standard Chartered and FairPrice, 1M+ customers | Defensible for now |
| Tyro Payments Australian bank and payments provider processing card transactions for small and mid-size businesses | Defensible for now |
| Woori Financial Group South Korean bank holding company, one of the country's five largest financial groups | Defensible for now |
| Afterpay Afterpay is a buy-now-pay-later lender owned by Block, built into Cash App checkout. | Protection under test |
| Avant Chicago online lender making personal loans and credit cards to non-prime borrowers | Protection under test |
| Bunq Dutch digital bank with an EU license, 20M+ users, and thin margins | Protection under test |
| Clip Mexican fintech selling card readers, payment software, and now a consumer wallet to small merchants | Protection under test |
| Figure Technologies Blockchain-based lender originating home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) for banks | Protection under test |
| Franklin Templeton Global asset manager running $1.79T in mutual funds, alternatives, and tokenized funds | Protection under test |
| Freetrade UK app for commission-free stock trading, ISAs, and pensions, now owned by IG Group | Protection under test |
| Fundrise Fundrise lets everyday investors put small checks into real estate and private AI startups. | Protection under test |
| Hargreaves Lansdown UK's largest DIY investment platform for ISAs, pensions, and share dealing | Protection under test |
| Invesco Invesco is a $2.47T asset manager that runs the QQQ Nasdaq-100 ETF | Protection under test |
| Julius Baer Group Swiss private bank managing CHF 547bn for wealthy clients since 1890 | Protection under test |
| M1 Finance M1 Finance runs automated brokerage accounts built around customizable stock/ETF 'Pies' and margin lending. | Protection under test |
| Nutmeg UK robo-advisor now folded into JPMorgan Chase as J.P. Morgan Personal Investing | Protection under test |
| PensionBee UK online service that finds and combines your old pensions into one plan | Protection under test |
| Rocket Companies Rocket Companies is a US mortgage lender and servicer, parent of Rocket Mortgage, Redfin, and Mr. Cooper | Protection under test |
| Solarisbank German bank-as-a-service provider running core banking rails under its own BaFin license | Protection under test |
| Acorns Micro-investing and savings app that rounds up spare change into managed portfolios | Losing its protection |
| Ajaib Ajaib is an Indonesian app for stock and crypto trading with a full broker-dealer license | Losing its protection |
| Athena Home Loans Athena is an Australian digital, non-bank home loan lender selling directly and via Mortgage Choice. | Losing its protection |
| Bank Jago Indonesian digital bank tied to Gojek/GoTo, profitable and deposit-taking under OJK license | Losing its protection |
| Banksalad Korean app that aggregates your bank, card, and loan data under a MyData license | Losing its protection |
| Better.com Better.com is a digital mortgage lender that underwrites loans through an AI engine called Tinman. | Losing its protection |
| Betterment A digital investing and banking platform that automates portfolios and saving. | Losing its protection |
| BigPay Malaysia digital wallet and prepaid card app under AirAsia's Capital A | Losing its protection |
| Blend Labs Blend Labs makes software that banks and lenders use to process mortgages and loans | Losing its protection |
| Branch International Mobile lending app giving small loans via smartphone in Africa and India | Losing its protection |
| China Everbright Bank State-backed Chinese joint-stock bank running retail, corporate and wealth lending nationwide | Losing its protection |
| Chip UK app that auto-saves spare cash and invests it for retail savers | Losing its protection |
| Creditas Brazilian secured lending platform that loans against cars, homes, and payroll | Losing its protection |
| DANA Indonesia DANA is a licensed Indonesian digital wallet backed by Ant Group, Sinar Mas, and Lazada | Losing its protection |
| Found Business banking app bundling checking, bookkeeping, and tax tools for freelancers | Losing its protection |
| Harmoney NZ/Australia online lender making personal and auto loans, underwritten by its Stellare AI model | Losing its protection |
| IIFL Finance Indian NBFC lending against gold, property, and small-business collateral | Losing its protection |
| IndMoney Indian app for stocks, mutual funds, and US investing under one SEBI-licensed broker account | Losing its protection |
| InvestEngine UK zero-fee robo platform that auto-builds ETF portfolios for ISAs and pensions | Losing its protection |
| Judo Bank Australian challenger bank lending to small businesses via relationship bankers | Losing its protection |
| Julo OJK-licensed Indonesian app lender offering small consumer and business loans | Losing its protection |
| Jupiter Indian neobank app offering banking, cards, and lending built on partner-bank licenses | Losing its protection |
| Konfio Online lender to Mexican small businesses, using tax data to underwrite loans banks skip | Losing its protection |
| Kueski Kueski runs online consumer lending and buy-now-pay-later loans for underbanked shoppers in Mexico. | Losing its protection |
| Latitude Financial Australian consumer lender offering credit cards, personal loans, and instalment plans through retail partners | Losing its protection |
| LendingTree Online marketplace that matches shoppers with loan, credit card, and insurance offers | Losing its protection |
| Lightyear Estonian app for European stock trading and cash savings across 25 countries | Losing its protection |
| livi Bank HK virtual bank backed by BOC Hong Kong, JD Digits and Jardines Matheson | Losing its protection |
| Lufax Holding Lufax connects Chinese borrowers and small businesses with bank loans it guarantees | Losing its protection |
| Lunar Lunar is a licensed Danish digital bank serving Nordic consumers and small businesses. | Losing its protection |
| Monex Group Japanese online brokerage and crypto holding company, #3 in most of its markets | Losing its protection |
| MoneyMe ASX-listed Australian online lender for personal loans and credit cards | Losing its protection |
| Mox Bank A Standard Chartered-backed digital bank serving Hong Kong retail customers. | Losing its protection |
| Navi Technologies Indian digital lender and insurer running NBFC, insurance, and mutual fund licenses | Losing its protection |
| NerdWallet Website comparing credit cards, loans, and insurance to earn referral fees | Losing its protection |
| Ping An OneConnect Bank Hong Kong virtual bank backed by Ping An and Lufax, still losing money after two rebrands | Losing its protection |
| Plum UK app for autosaving, ISAs, and AI-guided investing | Losing its protection |
| Prospa Prospa is an Australian licensed online lender giving small businesses fast loans and a business account. | Losing its protection |
| Prosper Marketplace Pioneer peer-to-peer personal loan and credit card marketplace since 2005 | Losing its protection |
| Public.com Retail brokerage app for stocks, options, crypto, and bonds with AI portfolio agents | Losing its protection |
| RappiPay Rappi's fintech arm offering cards, accounts, and payments in Mexico and Colombia | Losing its protection |
| Scalable Capital German neobroker offering trading, ETF savings plans, and now banking to 1M+ customers | Losing its protection |
| Slice Slice is an Indian small finance bank giving young, credit-thin users cards and loans | Losing its protection |
| Stash Beginner investing and banking app with robo-advice, now owned by Grab as of July 2026 | Losing its protection |
| StashAway A Singapore-based digital wealth manager offering automated investment portfolios across Asia. | Losing its protection |
| Syfe Singapore digital wealth platform managing over $10 billion for clients | Losing its protection |
| T. Rowe Price Active fund manager overseeing mutual funds and retirement plans for savers | Losing its protection |
| Tala Mobile lender giving small loans to underbanked borrowers in Kenya, Mexico, Philippines and beyond | Losing its protection |
| Tonik Tonik is a licensed digital-only bank in the Philippines lending to thin-file borrowers via employer and merchant channels | Losing its protection |
| Wealthfront Automated investing platform managing $94.1B for 1.42M clients | Losing its protection |
| Webull Webull runs a mobile app for trading stocks and options, mostly paid by broker order-flow rebates | Losing its protection |
| WeLab WeLab runs a licensed digital bank and lending platform across Hong Kong and Indonesia | Losing its protection |
| Wisr Australian online lender making car and personal loans, listed on the ASX | Losing its protection |
| ZA Bank Hong Kong's first licensed virtual bank, now serving 1M+ users with crypto and stablecoin services | Losing its protection |
| Zerodha Zerodha is India's largest discount stockbroker, built on flat-fee trading and options volume. | Losing its protection |
| AMTD Digital Hong Kong holding company that traded a fintech-advisory identity for hotels, media, and licensing deals | Little protection left |
| CreditEase Chinese wealth manager and fintech group selling investment products to high net worth clients | Little protection left |
| Fi Money Indian neobank app that shut its banking business and is now attempting a bare B2B AI pivot | Little protection left |
| loanDepot loanDepot originates and services US home mortgages, a sub-scale player in a scale-driven market | Little protection left |
| Monese UK mobile banking app for migrants and thin-file customers, now owned by Pockit | Little protection left |
| Tally Defunct automated debt payoff and credit app, shut down August 2024 | Little protection left |
| Titan Titan is a flat-fee digital wealth manager for tech workers with equity comp | Little protection left |
| Yiren Digital Chinese online consumer lender and insurance broker, spun off from P2P lender CreditEase | Little protection left |
Questions people ask
- Will AI replace traditional banks like BNP Paribas or DBS?
- No evidence points that way. Both hold moat scores of 9 and face almost no visible customer loss, because deposits, licenses, and branch trust don't disappear just because software gets smarter.
- Which fintech apps are failing in 2026?
- Fi Money shut its banking business and was absorbed by Federal Bank, and Tally has been defunct since 2024 with its assets split between LendingClub and Pagaya. Yiren Digital and CreditEase are also losing ground fast in China.
- Is Wealthfront in trouble?
- Wealthfront's net deposits fell 69% year over year as Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, Vanguard Digital Advisor, and Fidelity Go undercut it on fees, putting it in the shakier part of the sector.
- Are Korean banks like KB Financial and Shinhan losing customers to neobanks?
- KakaoBank and Toss are pulling some younger, digitally-savvy customers, but KB Financial still leads Korea's Big Five in group profit and Shinhan remains a strong, high-moat player.
- What's happening to Chinese online lenders like Lufax and Yiren Digital?
- Both are shrinking as Ant Group and AI-driven underwriters like Qfin take their borrowers, with Yiren's revenue down 41% year over year and Lufax's loan book contracting.
- Is Japan Post Bank at risk?
- It's holding on but under real pressure, with deposits shifting toward rate-competitive megabanks like MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho and its household deposit base shrinking.
What to watch
- Quarterly deposit growth at Japan Post Bank turning further negative
- Wealthfront or similar robo-advisors announcing new fee cuts or partnership deals
- Additional Chinese online lenders following Lufax and Yiren Digital into shrinking loan books
Head to head in this sector
Bank of Baroda vs State Bank of IndiaCathay Financial Holding vs E.Sun Financial HoldingCathay Financial Holding vs Fubon Financial HoldingsCathay Financial Holding vs Taishin Financial HoldingsCathay Financial Holding vs Yuanta Financial HoldingsChina Everbright Bank vs China Merchants BankChina CITIC Bank vs China Merchants BankCathay Financial Holding vs CTBC Financial Holding
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