Ranking
Safest Banks in Europe 2026
Every bank we cover that is headquartered in Europe, including the UK and Switzerland. That takes in the big national banks, two building societies, cooperative banks and licensed app banks such as N26, bunq, Revolut, Monzo, Starling and Trade Republic. Each score combines capital, deposit protection, liquidity, conduct, digital security and how the bank came through crises since 2008.
Updated · Scores update with each page
The ranking
Nationwide Building Society
The UK's biggest retail deposit taker is one of the best-capitalised lenders in the country and is funded mostly by savers. Since Virgin Money's business moved into it in April 2026, Nationwide and Virgin Money deposits share a single £120,000 FSCS limit.
Score 83, grade BRabobank
A very safe home for ordinary savings. Rabobank holds about twice the core capital it must, is funded largely by Dutch savers and needed no state help in 2008. Deposits at Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. are covered to €100,000 by the Dutch scheme. Its weak spot is conduct, including a pending Dutch money-laundering case.
Score 82, grade BSkipton Building Society
The Yorkshire-based mutual, with more than a million members, holds one of the thickest capital buffers of any UK lender and is funded mostly by retail savers. Its ratings sit a notch or two below Nationwide's, and money held at its Guernsey bank falls under a much smaller scheme.
Score 82, grade BCrédit Agricole
One of the best-capitalised large banks in Europe and a safe place for deposits. Your money sits with your regional bank or LCL, each covered by the FGDR to €100,000, plus €100,000 for Livret A, LDDS and LEP. Weak spots are losses in Greece after 2008 and recent customer-targeted phishing.
Score 80, grade BHSBC
One of the safest large banks for a depositor. HSBC took no government capital in 2008, holds a 14.1% CET1 ratio and a 134% liquidity coverage ratio, and UK deposits are covered by the FSCS to £120,000. Its conduct record, including UK fines in 2021 and 2024, is the weak spot.
Score 80, grade BBBVA
A safe bank for ordinary deposits. Spanish accounts at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. are covered by the FGD up to €100,000, capital sits about four points above requirement, and it took no state aid in Spain's banking crisis. The main mark against it is a pending criminal trial over the Villarejo spying case.
Score 78, grade BCaixaBank
CaixaBank, with 20.9 million customers in Spain and Portugal, is well funded by retail deposits and rated A+ by S&P and Fitch. Its record carries the weight of the rescued banks it absorbed, above all Bankia, and the Spanish state still owns 18% of it.
Score 78, grade BBNP Paribas
A large, steady bank and a safe place for deposits. French savers get €100,000 of FGDR cover plus a separate €100,000 for Livret A, LDDS and LEP. The weaker points are a 2009 state capital injection and a sanctions history that produced a US jury verdict in 2025.
Score 77, grade BKBC
The Belgian bank-insurance group is well capitalised, funded mainly by retail and small business deposits in Belgium and Central Europe, and rated AA- by Fitch. It needed €7 billion of state aid in the 2008–09 crisis and paid it back with a large premium.
Score 77, grade BSantander
A sound bank for deposits in Spain, the UK and elsewhere. It came through 2008 without state capital and rescued Banco Popular in 2017. Capital is well above requirement for now, but big acquisitions will use some of it, and a 2024 data breach and UK money-laundering fine dent its record.
Score 77, grade BBarclays
Money at Barclays is safe. Its CET1 ratio of 14.3% is two points above requirement, liquidity is ample, and UK deposits are FSCS-protected to £120,000. Getting at that money has been less reliable, and the bank has a long list of fines from its investment banking side.
Score 76, grade BCommerzbank
A safe bank for German savers. Deposits at Commerzbank AG, including comdirect, are covered to €100,000 by law and up to €3 million per individual by the private banks' voluntary fund. Capital is solid. The weak spot is its history; it needed a large state rescue in 2009.
Score 75, grade BING
A simple, deposit-funded bank and a safe place for savings. Half its funding comes from individuals' deposits, and capital sits about two points above requirement. Its record is the catch, with a large Dutch state rescue in 2008 and a €775 million money-laundering settlement in 2018.
Score 75, grade BStandard Chartered
The London-based bank that earns most of its money in Asia, Africa and the Middle East holds capital well above its requirement. Deposit cover depends on the local bank holding your money, from FSCS in the UK to Hong Kong's HK$800,000 scheme. Repeated sanctions and money laundering penalties are its main weakness.
Score 75, grade BABN AMRO
A safe bank for ordinary savings. Deposits at ABN AMRO Bank N.V. are covered to €100,000 by the Dutch scheme, and capital and liquidity are well above requirements. Its history pulls the score down, with a 2008 state takeover, a 20.5% state stake today and repeated anti-money-laundering failures.
Score 74, grade BIntesa Sanpaolo
A safe bank for ordinary deposits. Accounts at Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. are covered by Italy's FITD up to €100,000, and capital and liquidity sit well above requirements. Its ratings are capped near Italy's own, and an employee's undetected snooping on 3,573 customers led to a €31.8 million privacy fine in 2026.
Score 74, grade BNordea
Nordea Bank Abp is the largest Nordic bank, rated in the AA range with capital above its requirement. Deposits are covered by Finland's scheme to €100,000, with local top-ups. The weak spot is conduct, with Danish prosecutors seeking a record fine over money laundering controls in 2012–2015.
Score 74, grade BSociété Générale
A safe place for ordinary deposits. French savers get €100,000 of FGDR cover plus €100,000 for Livret A, LDDS and LEP, and capital and liquidity are well above requirements. The weak spots are the 2008 rogue-trading loss, state capital in 2008-09 and US penalties in 2018.
Score 74, grade BUBS
A strongly capitalised and very liquid bank, now Switzerland's only global bank after the forced takeover of Credit Suisse. Swiss deposit insurance is modest at CHF 100,000 per client, it relied on state support in 2008, and it inherited Credit Suisse's legal problems.
Score 72, grade BUniCredit
A safe bank for ordinary deposits. Italian accounts at UniCredit S.p.A. are covered by the FITD up to €100,000, and capital and liquidity are well above requirements. Ratings are capped near Italy's own, and its record includes $1.3 billion of US sanctions penalties in 2019 and a 2018 data breach.
Score 72, grade BDeutsche Bank
Safer for a saver than its headlines suggest. Deposits are covered to €100,000 by law and, for individuals, up to €3 million by the private banks' voluntary fund. Capital and liquidity have recovered since the 2016 scare. Its conduct record and the 2023 Postbank IT failure are the weak spots.
Score 71, grade BKlarna
Klarna Bank AB is a licensed Swedish bank, and its savings accounts in Germany, Sweden and other EU countries are covered by Sweden's deposit guarantee. It holds plenty of capital and cash, but it lends unsecured short-term credit, made a loss in 2025 and was fined SEK 500 million for money laundering control failures.
Score 71, grade BLloyds Banking Group
Money at Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland is safe. CET1 is 13.6% against about 12% required, and deposits are FSCS-protected to £120,000 per licence. The weak spots are a 2008 state rescue, a £1.95bn car finance bill and a March 2026 glitch that showed customers other people's transactions.
Score 70, grade BMonzo
Money at Monzo is safe up to the FSCS limit. Monzo Bank Ltd is a PRA-authorised UK bank with a CET1 ratio of 27.3%, and most of its £25.7bn of deposits sits in cash and government-grade assets. The weak spots are a £21.1m FCA fine in 2025, no credit ratings and a short track record.
Score 70, grade BStarling Bank
Money at Starling is safe up to the FSCS limit. Starling Bank Ltd is a PRA-authorised UK bank with a CET1 ratio of 28.6%, far above its requirement, and it lends out well under half of its £12.7bn of deposits. Its weak spot is a £29m FCA fine in 2024 for sanctions screening failures.
Score 70, grade Bbunq
bunq B.V. is a bank licensed and supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank, so deposits are covered by the Dutch deposit guarantee up to €100,000 per person. Capital and liquidity ratios are comfortable. The weak points are repeated anti-money laundering failures, a €2.6 million fine under appeal and a thin leverage ratio.
Score 68, grade CDanske Bank
Danske Bank A/S is Denmark's largest bank, with a CET1 ratio 2.4 points above its requirement, AA-range deposit ratings and Danish deposit cover to €100,000. The score is held back by one of Europe's largest money laundering cases, a criminal guilty plea in the US and a state capital injection in 2009.
Score 68, grade CNatWest Group
Deposits at NatWest are safe. Its CET1 ratio of 13.2% is 2.9 points above the level that triggers payout limits, and UK savings are FSCS-protected to £120,000. The score is held back by history, the £45.5bn RBS rescue and a 2021 criminal conviction for money-laundering failures.
Score 68, grade CRaiffeisen Bank International (RBI)
Raiffeisen Bank International is a large Austrian group with banks across Central and Eastern Europe, and deposits are covered by national schemes up to €100,000 or the local equivalent. It still owns a bank in Russia, which has cost it billions in court seizures and keeps it under US and ECB scrutiny.
Score 66, grade CTrade Republic
Trade Republic Bank GmbH is a German bank supervised by BaFin and the Bundesbank, and very liquid because it barely lends. But your cash is held in trust at partner banks, covered up to €100,000 per bank, and part of larger balances goes into money market funds with no deposit guarantee.
Score 66, grade CRevolut
Revolut is now a regulated bank in the UK and the EU, profitable and holding mostly cash and government bonds. The catch is complexity. Your money may sit in a bank account, safeguarded e-money, a money market fund or crypto, each protected differently or not at all, and it has no credit ratings or crisis track record.
Score 65, grade CMetro Bank
Metro Bank PLC is a UK high street bank with FSCS cover to £120,000, a liquidity coverage ratio of 270% and a CET1 ratio 2.6 points above its requirement. The weak points are a sub-investment-grade Fitch rating, a £925 million rescue in 2023 and three regulatory fines over reporting and money laundering controls.
Score 58, grade CN26
N26 Bank SE is a fully licensed German bank, so deposits are protected to €100,000 per person and it holds far more liquid assets than it needs. The weak spots are a long run of BaFin measures since 2021, a capital position below the regulator's guidance and only its first, tiny annual profit in 2025.
Score 58, grade C
Which banks are on the list
The rule is the bank's headquarters. Any bank we cover whose group is based in Europe is on it, including the UK, Switzerland and Scandinavia, and app banks count as long as they hold a banking licence. That is why N26, bunq, Revolut, Monzo, Starling, Klarna and Trade Republic sit next to HSBC and BNP Paribas. E-moneyMoney held as a stored balance with a payment firm rather than as a bank deposit. It is safeguarded, not covered by deposit insurance.More in the glossary companies such as Wise are left out because they do not take insured deposits. Standard Chartered is included because it is based in London, although most of its customers are in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
How the order is built
Each bank has six scored factors. Capital strength counts for 25%: the CET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary against the bank's own requirement, and its credit ratings. Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary counts for 20%, liquidity and funding for 15%, conduct over the last ten years for 15%, digital security for 15% and the record since 2008 for 10%. The rubrics are on how we score banks. The list is the scores sorted from the highest down, so it moves when we update a page after new results, a fine or an outage.
What the top banks have in common
Near the top are banks with thick capital and mostly retail funding. Nationwide and Rabobank are owned by their members: Nationwide's CET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary was 19.1% in March 2026 against a 12.3% requirement, Rabobank's 20.2% in June 2026 against 10.9%. HSBC raised capital from shareholders rather than the state in 2009 and lends out only about 56% of its deposits. BBVA took no state capital in 2008 or in Spain's 2012 crisis, and Santander none in 2008. A rescue is not a permanent mark, though: KBC took €7 billion from the Belgian and Flemish governments in 2008 and 2009, repaid it by 2015, and sits in the upper half today.
Why some banks are lower
Several big names carry their history. Lloyds and NatWest needed British state rescues in 2008, and UBS needed Swiss state capital that year. Raiffeisen Bank International still owns a bank in Russia, where the central bank took about €2.4 billion from it in 2025 and 2026 to enforce court judgments.
App banks sit in the lower half for different reasons. Their capital ratios are often high, but they have short records, no credit ratings, deposits that can move fast, and fines over Anti-money launderingThe rules and checks that stop criminals from moving illegal money through banks, payment firms and crypto exchanges.More in the glossary controls at N26, bunq and Revolut. Metro Bank needed a £925 million private rescue in 2023 and has a rating below investment grade.
What the score does not tell you
Below the limit, your deposits are protected at every bank on this list. The score matters more for savings above €100,000 or £120,000, for how often you can reach your account, and for how the bank treats customers. At app banks and brokers, check that your balance is a deposit and not E-moneyMoney held as a stored balance with a payment firm rather than as a bank deposit. It is safeguarded, not covered by deposit insurance.More in the glossary, a money market fund or crypto. For one country, see the UK ranking, or compare with the world list.
Questions
What is the safest bank in Europe?
No bank stands far ahead. Banks from the UK, the Netherlands, France and Spain sit within a few points of each other at the top, so read them as a group. Within the Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary limit, your savings are protected at any of them, so the gaps near the top matter most for larger sums.
Is my money safe in a European bank?
Up to the limit, yes. Every EU country must protect deposits up to €100,000 per person at each bank, or the same amount in its own currency, and pay out within seven working days. In the UK the Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary covers £120,000 per person per banking licence. Brands that share one licence, such as Deutsche Bank and Postbank, share one limit.
Is N26 safe?
Deposits at N26 are protected, because N26 Bank SE is a fully licensed German bank and the statutory scheme covers €100,000 per person, including customers in France, Spain or Italy. It scores lower than most banks here because BaFin has fined it twice for late suspicious-activity reports, ordered new measures in December 2025, and N26 made its first, tiny profit only in 2025.
Is Revolut safe?
It depends on where your money sits. Deposits at Revolut Bank UK are Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary-covered to £120,000, and EEA deposits at Revolut Bank UAB are covered by Lithuania's scheme to €100,000. Balances still held as E-moneyMoney held as a stored balance with a payment firm rather than as a bank deposit. It is safeguarded, not covered by deposit insurance.More in the glossary are SafeguardingThe legal duty of payment and e-money firms to keep customer money separate from their own, so it can be returned if the firm fails.More in the glossary but not insured, and money market funds, shares and crypto are not deposits at all. Check in the app which one your balance is.
Are Swiss banks safer than other European banks?
Not for an ordinary depositor. Swiss Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary, esisuisse, covers CHF 100,000 per client per bank, about the same as the EU's €100,000 and below the UK's £120,000, and the scheme's total funds are capped. UBS holds strong capital and liquidity, but it needed Swiss state capital in 2008 and took on Credit Suisse's legal cases in 2023.
Is my money safe at Trade Republic?
Trade Republic is a licensed German bank, but customer cash is held in trust at partner banks such as Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan, covered up to €100,000 per person at each partner bank. Part of larger balances goes into money market funds, which are held like securities and are not covered by deposit guarantees.
Why is Wise not on this list?
Wise is an E-moneyMoney held as a stored balance with a payment firm rather than as a bank deposit. It is safeguarded, not covered by deposit insurance.More in the glossary company, not a bank. Balances are SafeguardingThe legal duty of payment and e-money firms to keep customer money separate from their own, so it can be returned if the firm fails.More in the glossary, kept apart from Wise's own money, but not covered by the Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary or an EU deposit guarantee scheme. Our Wise page explains how that safeguarding works.