Revolut aims for "effectively zero risk" as a bank, so it will lend very little

# What Revolut announced

Revolut's CEO Nik Storonsky told the Financial Times the company will keep lending to a small fraction of deposits even after becoming a licensed bank in the UK and France this year and obtaining conditional approval for a US national bank charter. Management describes the strategy as designed "to have effectively zero risk for the business."

# How small is "small"?

Public figures in the coverage put Revolut's loan-to-deposit ratio at roughly 6% (FT) and FinanceMagnates calculates about 4.4% using Revolut's end-2025 numbers: a £2.2 billion loan book against £50.2 billion of customer balances. Storonsky said Revolut does not plan to go beyond 10% to 20% in loans to deposits.

# Where lending fits into the business model

# Regulatory context and licences

March after 20 months of restrictions. In August Revolut secured a full French banking licence, its second EU banking licence after Lithuania, and the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave conditional approval for a national bank charter in early September. Those licences enable lending activity but Revolut's stated strategy limits how much it will hold.

# Risk posture and background

# Growth, deposits and customer footprint

Revolut reported large deposit volumes at the end of 2025 and says it has 80 million customers across 40 countries, with ambitions to operate as a consumer bank in over 100 markets. The company already shows strong adoption in some markets—four in five people in Ireland reportedly use Revolut—but converting usage into customers' main bank accounts is a separate challenge.

# Compliance, sanctions and limits on expansion

Storonsky acknowledged that sanctions and geopolitical tensions constrain activity in some markets and make customer vetting harder. Revolut was fined €3.5 million by the Bank of Lithuania in April 2025 over anti-money laundering shortcomings, a compliance issue that factors into regulatory and expansion decisions.

# How rivals differ

UK challenger Monzo offers a direct contrast: Monzo increased lending income by 39% in the year to March 2026 and reported revenue of £1.7 billion, showing a more lending-driven revenue mix than Revolut's fee-heavy model.

# Bottom line

Revolut's banking licences open the door to traditional lending, but management has signalled a deliberate choice to limit balance-sheet credit exposure, sell loans it originates, and rely on fees and deposit inflows. That strategy changes how to evaluate Revolut compared with banks that deploy deposits primarily into loans and credit products.