• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026

3

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026

3

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
TechDeloitte

Big Banks Have Nothing to Fear from Financial Upstarts, Study Says

Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 23, 2016, 7:35 PM ET
Deloitte sign on top of Toronto headquarters building.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2016/04/16: Deloitte sign on top of Toronto headquarters building. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited is a multinational professional services firm. Deloitte is one of the "Big Four" and the second largest professional services network in the world. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)Roberto Machado Noa—LightRocket via Getty Images

Deloitte has some news for piping hot financial startups—news they might not like to hear.

Despite the hype about their potential to upend lending, the upstarts do not, in fact, imperil the livelihood of incumbent banks, the accounting and consulting firm said in a new report.

Deloitte’s tepid outlook for financial technology upstarts is counter to the disruptive world-conquering storyline that is the norm in Silicon Valley. Big banks are unlikely to be unseated by less regulated, more nimble upstarts, the report said.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

“The rise of Marketplace lending has urged many commentators to highlight the potential disruption that such new business models may bring to traditional banking,” the report said. “Our research presents a different opinion and instead concludes that MPLs”—that is, marketplace lenders—”do not currently have the competitive advantage needed to threaten this traditional banking model.”

The paper doesn’t go into detail about individual companies, although it mentions several in passing like Prosper, OnDeck, and Lending Club among the new crop of lenders, and J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) and Citigroup (C) in the incumbent camp. (It’s worth noting that Deloitte no doubt has big bank customers.)

Adding support to the report’s conclusions, financial technology firms have hit turbulence in recent months. Prosper, the first peer-to-peer lending company in the U.S., said it would lay off 28% of its workers, Lending Club’s CEO departed under a huge cloud over its lending practices while its share price tumbled, and OnDeck’s stock price took a pummeling because of increasing doubts about its ability to find loan buyers.

Meanwhile, big banks are trying to keep up with innovation by, among other things, experimenting with new technologies like the blockchain, the software underpinning Bitcoin, that could streamline their IT operations. Some banks like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup have partnered with companies like OnDeck and Lending Club, for example, to provide loans through their platforms.

Lending has traditionally been a cash cow for commercial banks. Yet increased regulatory scrutiny and legacy IT costs are eating into entrenched players’ opportunities.

Startups, on the other hand, are benefitting from low interest rates, low overhead for their technology infrastructure, and low risk associated with their peer-to-peer lending businesses. These factors have allowed them to enter the market as a compelling alternative loan provider for consumers, the report said.

For more on loans, watch:

Deloitte’s report sets out to answer a question: Is marketplace lending a temporary phenomenon? In other words, are the newcomers merely exploiting a set of lucky conditions that will vanish at some point?

In fact, Deloitte predicted that the sector is not going away anytime soon. It foresees, however, that increased regulation and competition “may squeeze returns,” or profits. The startups that stand the best chance of sticking around are niche players that focus on specific market segments, Deloitte said.

For the most part though, these financial tech startups are “unlikely to pose a threat in the mass market,” it concluded. “They may not fully disrupt the model, we do expect them to be a continued presence within the ever evolving banking landscape.”

About the Author
Robert Hackett
By Robert Hackett
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

More and more of Musk’s companies end up under the same roof. Here’s a look at his sprawling empire
C-SuiteElon Musk
More and more of Musk’s companies end up under the same roof. Here’s a look at his sprawling empire
By The Associated PressJune 13, 2026
2 hours ago
herrin
CommentaryInfrastructure
America just committed $1.2 trillion to fix its infrastructure. We’re still flying blind
By Gregg HerrinJune 13, 2026
6 hours ago
Melinda French Gates’ advice to new IPO millionaires: ‘Give half your money away’
Startups & VentureMost Powerful Women
Melinda French Gates’ advice to new IPO millionaires: ‘Give half your money away’
By Emma HinchliffeJune 13, 2026
6 hours ago
Aravind Srinivas wearing glasses
SuccessBillionaires
CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea
By Preston ForeJune 13, 2026
6 hours ago
cyber
Commentarycyber
Accenture cyber leads: why hiring more people won’t solve the cybersecurity talent gap
By Harpreet Sidhu and Vikram DesaiJune 13, 2026
6 hours ago
t
CommentaryHospitality
AI is making promises your brand never made. Hotels are paying the price
By Teresa MackintoshJune 13, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 12, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 12, 2026
1 day ago
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
Real Estate
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
By Sydney LakeJune 13, 2026
7 hours ago
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
Success
American taxpayers have spent $33 billion on sports stadiums. They got fewer seats—and higher prices
By Catherina GioinoJune 11, 2026
2 days ago
U.S. energy secretary says 7 million barrels of oil exiting Persian Gulf daily, but Chevron CEO rebuts the claim
Energy
U.S. energy secretary says 7 million barrels of oil exiting Persian Gulf daily, but Chevron CEO rebuts the claim
By Jordan BlumJune 12, 2026
20 hours ago
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
AI
Anthropic disables Fable and Mythos AI models after U.S. government bars it from giving foreigners access
By Jeremy KahnJune 13, 2026
12 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.