The Austrian securities market was able to broaden its client base considerably in the past year. The number of securities accounts held at Austrian credit institutions rose by 14% to 2.87 million. The drivers of this increase are predominantly due to digital and online-based business models, particularly those provided by branch establishments in Austria of foreign providers. Market entries and such providers’ strong growth highlight the prevailing trend towards digital securities platforms. This is a finding of the Austrian Financial Market Authority’s (FMA) Banking Distribution Report 2026 that was published today.
The market structure reflects this development: collectively, the five largest institutions manage around 1.2 million securities accounts, or 43% of the total market. In 2025, branches of European providers were able to increase their market share from 13% to 20% year-on-year; they were able to wrest market share from all the other sectors. A characteristic apparent from the leading institutions is their strong focus on digital distribution channels. Securities business has also an increasing significance for banks in terms of income: last year, net commission income from securities rose by 15% to €1.87 billion.
“Digital transformation is the most important entry point for a more widespread capital market participation, especially among the young,” remarked FMA Executive Director Mariana Kühnel. “Neobanks and neobrokers have sent a clear signal to the financial sector that it needs phone apps with smart functions and products nowadays – such as ETFs and savings plans. In doing so, they have brought about a surge in digitalisation and innovation across the entire industry, even among established institutions. A level playing field in supervision is also important for the FMA: for investors, it should not make any difference about the providers they use to purchase securities.”
“Neobanks and neobrokers among those institutions that really make use of the opportunities the European Banking Union presents – expanding across borders into all countries,” added FMA Executive Director Helmut Ettl. “The interesting observation is that originally European providers are making use of this development, rather than the large American tech companies, as many expected would be the case a couple of years ago.”
Complaints increasing
Another strong upwards trend is being observed is being observed from banks’ statistics about complaints. In the past year, a total of 140,747 complaints were made to Austrian credit institutions, a 17% increase over the preceding year. The greatest proportion of complaints related to payments (50,823, +12%) and lending business (30,490, -8.6%). Particularly dynamic growth in the number of complaints submitted was also unfortunately observed regarding investment services, rising by 70% to 9,096 complaints.
“Consumers are also reporting complaints about neobrokers and online banks to the FMA,” Mariana Kühnel added. “When we identify irregularities, we ensure that they are remedied consistently. We cooperate closely with the home country supervisors in the case of cross-border providers. We pursue a common objective within the Banking Union.”
“We also have a clear message for consumers: the trend towards using low cost offerings without investment advice also means that consumers take full responsibility over the investment decision”, commented Helmut Ettl. “Currently some of the information circulating on social media is either not fit for purpose, or nothing more than a financial fairy tale. The FMA is therefore expanding its own offering in the area of consumer information.”
Other topics addressed in the Banking Distribution Report 2026:
- The outstanding volume of consumer loans rose by 6.8% to €22.5 billion in 2025. In this important area, the FMA will obtain enhanced supervisory powers from November 2026, and is planning intensified inspection measures in 2027.
- The volume of payments fraud has increased – although the number of cases has fallen, the amounts involved have increased. The number of cases where the victims have been forced to release payments themselves is becoming more significant.
The Banking Distribution Report 2026 can be downloaded in German as well as previous years’ editions from the FMA Website. The FMA’s consumer information can be found on the Let’s talk about money (Reden wir über Geld) website and the Instagram channel @redenwiruebergeld.
Journalists may address further enquiries to
Boris Gröndahl (FMA Media Spokesperson)
Telephone: +43/(1)249/59-6010
Mobile: +43 676 8824 9995
E-Mail: [email protected]