{"id":42596808,"date":"2026-09-15T09:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T07:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fma.gv.at\/?p=42596808"},"modified":"2026-09-17T09:40:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T07:40:01","slug":"fma-report-neobrokers-digital-distribution-drives-14-growth-in-securities-accounts-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fma.gv.at\/en\/fma-report-neobrokers-digital-distribution-drives-14-growth-in-securities-accounts-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"FMA Report: Neobrokers’ digital distribution drives 14% growth in securities accounts in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Austrian securities market<\/strong> 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<\/strong>. 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<\/strong>. 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<\/strong> that was published today.<\/p>

The market structure reflects this development: collectively, the five largest institutions manage around 1.2 million securities accounts<\/strong>, or 43%<\/strong> of the total market. In 2025, branches of European providers<\/strong> were able to increase their market share<\/strong> from 13% to 20%<\/strong> 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<\/strong>. Securities business has also an increasing significance for banks in terms of income: last year, net commission income from securities<\/strong> rose by 15% to €1.87 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>

“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<\/strong>. “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.”<\/p>

“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<\/strong>. “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.”<\/p>

Complaints increasing<\/h2>

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.<\/p>

“Consumers are also reporting complaints about neobrokers and online banks to the FMA,” Mariana Kühnel<\/strong> 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.”<\/p>

“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.<\/strong> “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.”<\/p>

Other topics addressed in the Banking Distribution Report 2026:<\/h2>