The European Securities and Markets Authority, in cooperation with national competent authorities, has published its annual analysis of cross-border investment services, revealing significant growth in retail client activity across 30 EU and EEA jurisdictions during 2025.
Retail client expansion and firm participation
Data gathered across the EU and EEA shows that 379 financial firms provided cross-border investment services to retail clients in 2025. During the year, approximately 15.5 million retail clients received investment services from firms based in another Member State, representing almost twice the total recorded in 2023.
Compared with 2024 figures, the number of retail clients engaging in cross-border investment rose by 47 per cent. Over the same period, the total number of financial firms operating across borders grew by 2 per cent, while client complaints remained stable, decreasing slightly by 0.2 per cent.
Geographic concentration of providers and client destinations
Cyprus remained the leading jurisdiction for financial firms offering cross-border investment services within the EU and EEA, accounting for 20 per cent of all passporting entities. Luxembourg and Germany represented the second and third largest hub locations, hosting 14 per cent and 12 per cent of passporting firms respectively.
The primary destination markets for retail clients receiving investment services from firms in other Member States were France, Spain, Germany and Italy.
Supervisory monitoring and future timeline
ESMA stated that the collected findings will support ongoing supervisory monitoring by the European regulator and national competent authorities to track developments affecting retail investors across the single market. The authority plans to conduct its next cross-border data collection exercise in 2027.
| Metric | 2025 Figure | Change vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Participating financial firms | 379 | +2% |
| Retail clients served cross-border | 15.5 million | +47% |
| Client complaints | Stable | -0.2% |
