Is DEGIRO Safe? Bank Licence, Investor Protection and the Real Risks (2026)

The short answer

DEGIRO is one of the safer low-cost brokers in Europe in one important respect: it is part of a bank. Since 2020 it has been part of flatexDEGIRO, a German group listed on the stock exchange that agreed to buy it at the end of 2019, and its business runs through flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, which holds a full banking licence supervised by BaFin. That brings a deposit guarantee for cash, something many app-based brokers cannot offer.

Who supervises DEGIRO

flatexDEGIRO Bank SE is supervised by BaFin, Germany’s financial regulator. DEGIRO operates as its Dutch branch, so the Dutch central bank (DNB) and the Dutch markets authority (AFM) also supervise it in the Netherlands. The parent company publishes quarterly results: for the first half of 2026 it reported revenue of €340.1 million and net income of €115.0 million, on preliminary, unaudited figures, with 3.66 million customer accounts at the end of June, 2.75 million of them in the DEGIRO business, and €108.3 billion of assets in custody.

How your investments and cash are protected

Shares and ETFs bought through DEGIRO are held separately from the bank’s own assets and are not available to its creditors, so if the bank failed they should be returned to you. Cash is different: uninvested money sits in a cash account at flatexDEGIRO Bank with your own IBAN, which makes it a bank deposit.

• Investments: the German investor compensation scheme covers 90% of a loss, up to €20,000 per person, if securities cannot be returned, for example after fraud or a failure of segregation.
• Cash: the German deposit guarantee scheme covers up to €100,000 per person at the bank.
• Market losses: not covered by any scheme.

Securities lending: read the terms before you opt in

At the end of 2025 DEGIRO launched securities lending for customers in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. Lending your shares can earn a little extra income, but while a share is on loan it leaves your account: instead of the share, you hold a claim on the borrower, backed by collateral. That is a different risk from simply holding shares in custody, so read the terms before you take part. Separately, if you borrow on margin, the securities you own act as collateral for the loan and can be sold if their value falls too far.

With any broker, the protection is only as good as your understanding of what you have opted into.

The record

The group has faced regulatory criticism. In February 2023 BaFin fined flatexDEGIRO Bank €1.05 million for breaching banking supervisory rules, and it required the bank to fix weaknesses in its controls. The findings concerned the bank’s governance and processes; we have found no reports of client assets being lost.

The risks that actually matter

• Margin: borrowing to invest magnifies losses, and positions can be sold if their value falls below the required level.
• Currency: DEGIRO’s AutoFX conversion costs 0.25% each way when you trade in another currency.
• Leveraged products: DEGIRO offers options, futures and leveraged products alongside shares and ETFs, and they can lose money quickly.
• Tax paperwork: in some countries, such as Ireland, DEGIRO does not provide a local tax report, so you have to work out what you owe yourself.

Should you trust DEGIRO?

For a European investor who buys shares and ETFs and holds them, DEGIRO combines low costs with the protection of a supervised bank: segregated securities, investor compensation and a deposit guarantee for cash. It scores 4/5 for Regulation & Trust on our methodology. The things to manage are your own: what you opt into, whether you borrow, and how you handle the tax paperwork in your country. This guide is general education, not personal financial advice.

This article is educational and general in nature. It isn’t personalized investment, tax, or legal advice — always weigh your own circumstances, or talk to a licensed professional, before making financial decisions.

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