⚠ The Competition Is Arranging Not to Be a BankHigh threat

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) — threat to the moat

The wall keeps out everyone who wants to be a bank and does nothing about the firms that want the business without the charter.

The wall works perfectly against anyone who wants to be a bank, and not at all against anyone who does not.

Where each business is being routed aroundLendingPrivate credit funds - no capital requirementPaymentsFirms that never take custody of the moneyDepositsProducts that behave like accounts without being themThe 10-K's phrase'Disintermediate traditional banking products'The wall stops anyone who wants to be a bank. It does nothing about anyone who does not.
The competition that matters has arranged not to play by the rules.

JPMorgan's filings say so directly. New competitors continue to emerge, including firms operating solely through the internet and non-financial companies offering products that disintermediate traditional banking services1. And the firm warns that advocacy by non-banking competitors for exemptions from regulatory requirements could significantly disadvantage traditional financial institutions2.

The pattern repeats across every business. Lending migrates to private credit funds that hold no deposits and face no stress test. Payments migrate to companies that never take custody of the money. Deposits themselves are contested by products that behave like accounts without being them.

Each of these arbitrages the same asymmetry: a regulated bank must hold capital against a loan and a fund does not, so the fund can accept a lower return on the same asset and still clear its cost of capital.

What limits it is that non-banks have to fund themselves somewhere, and in a crisis that funding is the first thing to disappear — which is when the deposit-funded balance sheet is worth what it costs. JPMorgan's own risk disclosure flags the expansion of private credit as a systemic concern for exactly that reason3.

The falsifier is market share in lending. Watch the share of US corporate credit held outside the banking system; it has only gone one way.

References
  1. ReportedThe 10-K notes that new competitors continue to emerge, including firms operating solely through the internet and non-financial companies offering products that disintermediate traditional banking products and services.
    JPMorgan Chase & Co., Form 10-K FY2025 — risk factors and competition (SEC, CIK 19617). 'Competitors include other banks, brokerage firms, investment banking companies, merchant banks, hedge funds, commodity trading companies, private equity firms, insurance companies, mutual fund companies, investment managers, credit card companies, mortgage banking companies, trust companies, securities processing companies, automobile financing companies, leasing companies, e-commerce and other internet-based companies, digital asset and other financial technology companies.' 'New competitors in the financial services industry continue to emerge, including firms that offer products and services solely through the internet and non-financial companies that offer products and services that disintermediate traditional banking products and services offered by financial services firms such as JPMorganChase.' The risk factors further warn that advocacy by non-banking competitors for exemptions from regulatory requirements could significantly disadvantage traditional financial institutions; that if the firm does not keep pace with rapidly changing technological advances, including the adoption of generative AI, it risks losing clients and market share, with competition intensified as the feasibility, capability and scalability of new technologies improves; that adverse macroeconomic or market conditions could prompt outflows from funds or accounts or cause clients to invest in products that generate lower revenue; and that the interconnectivity across credit markets increases the risk that the significant expansion of private credit could worsen losses among non-bank lenders and their borrowers, particularly if stress or defaults spread to broader funding and credit markets. — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02-13 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe 10-K warns that advocacy by non-banking competitors for exemptions from regulatory requirements could significantly disadvantage traditional financial institutions.
    JPMorgan Chase & Co., Form 10-K FY2025 — risk factors and competition (SEC, CIK 19617). 'Competitors include other banks, brokerage firms, investment banking companies, merchant banks, hedge funds, commodity trading companies, private equity firms, insurance companies, mutual fund companies, investment managers, credit card companies, mortgage banking companies, trust companies, securities processing companies, automobile financing companies, leasing companies, e-commerce and other internet-based companies, digital asset and other financial technology companies.' 'New competitors in the financial services industry continue to emerge, including firms that offer products and services solely through the internet and non-financial companies that offer products and services that disintermediate traditional banking products and services offered by financial services firms such as JPMorganChase.' The risk factors further warn that advocacy by non-banking competitors for exemptions from regulatory requirements could significantly disadvantage traditional financial institutions; that if the firm does not keep pace with rapidly changing technological advances, including the adoption of generative AI, it risks losing clients and market share, with competition intensified as the feasibility, capability and scalability of new technologies improves; that adverse macroeconomic or market conditions could prompt outflows from funds or accounts or cause clients to invest in products that generate lower revenue; and that the interconnectivity across credit markets increases the risk that the significant expansion of private credit could worsen losses among non-bank lenders and their borrowers, particularly if stress or defaults spread to broader funding and credit markets. — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02-13 · source ↗
  3. ReportedThe 10-K warns that the interconnectivity across credit markets increases the risk that the significant expansion of private credit could worsen losses among non-bank lenders and their borrowers, particularly if stress or defaults spread to broader funding and credit markets.
    JPMorgan Chase & Co., Form 10-K FY2025 — risk factors and competition (SEC, CIK 19617). 'Competitors include other banks, brokerage firms, investment banking companies, merchant banks, hedge funds, commodity trading companies, private equity firms, insurance companies, mutual fund companies, investment managers, credit card companies, mortgage banking companies, trust companies, securities processing companies, automobile financing companies, leasing companies, e-commerce and other internet-based companies, digital asset and other financial technology companies.' 'New competitors in the financial services industry continue to emerge, including firms that offer products and services solely through the internet and non-financial companies that offer products and services that disintermediate traditional banking products and services offered by financial services firms such as JPMorganChase.' The risk factors further warn that advocacy by non-banking competitors for exemptions from regulatory requirements could significantly disadvantage traditional financial institutions; that if the firm does not keep pace with rapidly changing technological advances, including the adoption of generative AI, it risks losing clients and market share, with competition intensified as the feasibility, capability and scalability of new technologies improves; that adverse macroeconomic or market conditions could prompt outflows from funds or accounts or cause clients to invest in products that generate lower revenue; and that the interconnectivity across credit markets increases the risk that the significant expansion of private credit could worsen losses among non-bank lenders and their borrowers, particularly if stress or defaults spread to broader funding and credit markets. — FY2025 · publ. 2026-02-13 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026