JPMorgan to enter German retail bank market in European expansion

Chase will offer a savings account as its first product in Germany

JPMorgan said it would launch Chase in Germany in the second quarter of 2026 © Reuters

JPMorgan will launch its digital retail bank, Chase, in Germany next year, stepping up its expansion in Europe after its entry into the UK in 2021.

The US lender said it would launch in Germany in the second quarter of 2026, entering the country’s fiercely competitive retail banking market at a time when digital lenders are challenging the industry’s traditional players.

Chase will offer a savings account as its first product in the country “because of the popularity of savings products in Germany”, said Daniel Llano Manibardo, JPMorgan’s head of German retail banking, adding that its operations in the country would be “gradually expanded”.

JPMorgan ’s chief executive Jamie Dimon had previously announced his intention to launch Chase in Germany in 2023 but did not give a timeline. The bank has already hired about 100 staff in Berlin and aims to open its German headquarters there by the end of 2025.

“We see strong demand in Germany for a digital bank built on trust, innovation, and global expertise,” said Mark O’Donovan, JPMorgan’s head of international consumer banking.

Competition in German retail banking is intense as established lenders such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank jostle with hundreds of smaller savings and co-operative banks, as well as fintechs such as N26 and Trade Republic, in a market where customers are regarded as particularly loyal.

While traditional banks are rapidly shrinking their branch networks, digital challengers continue to arrive, including Spain’s BBVA which launched a digital service in Germany this year.

In its first foray into retail banking outside the US, JPMorgan launched Chase in the UK in 2021 to challenge incumbents such as Lloyds Bank and NatWest. Chase has amassed more than 2mn customers in the UK, helped by competitive savings rates, and the division is expected to turn a profit this year.

However, Chase UK’s growth is constrained by ringfencing rules that require banks with more than £35bn in deposits to separate retail operations from riskier parts of the business, though the British government is considering an overhaul of the crisis-era regulations.

Chase’s expansion into Germany cements Dimon’s ambitions to create a digital bank on the continent that will compete with local rivals. JPMorgan, which has approximately $4tn in assets, is already the largest retail bank in the US.

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• 1 ### JPMorgan to enter German retail bank market in European expansion
• 2 ### UK fintechs explore buying US banks to speed up push for licences
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