JPMorgan Chase to enter German retail banking market in 2026: report

JPMorgan Chase will enter Germany’s retail banking sector in the second quarter of 2026 to become one of the country’s top five consumer lenders, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing Chase Germany head Daniel Llano Manibardo.

This move follows JPMorgan’s earlier expansion of its digital retail banking services to the UK in 2021 and represents the next phase of its European growth strategy.

Llano Manibardo, in an interview, told the Financial Times: “Our ambitions are high, even as we recognized that making money in Europe’s largest and richest market would not be easy. In the long term, we want to be among the top five players in every market we enter.”

According to the FT report, Germany’s retail banking market is highly competitive, with large institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and ING.

The market also includes several public savings banks and cooperatives.

Despite the established players, JPMorgan intends to compete for significant market share through its digital-only Chase offering, according to the publication.

Llano Manibardo said: “Germany has no shortage of banks and gaining real scale would be the key to success.

“We did a lot of prior analysis to understand the market. Now we are really stepping on the accelerator, building the bank,” he added.

The proposed digital bank will begin its retail operations in Germany, with the savings account as its initial product offering.

Chase currently employs approximately 120 people in Germany, and its new headquarters in Berlin, opening next month, can accommodate up to 400 employees.

As a large-scale foreign bank in Germany, JPMorgan offers commercial banking, investment banking, asset management and wealth management.

The company has traditionally avoided launching international retail banking projects because of the expense of building physical branch networks.

However, Chase has attracted more than two million customers in the UK since its launch, using its digital platform and offering integrated services, according to the report.

Last month, Llano Manibardo, through a post on LinkedIn, announced the company’s plans to launch its digital retail bank in Germany.

“JPMorgan Chase to enter German retail banking market in 2026: report” was originally created and published by International Retail Bankera brand owned by GlobalData.

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