Lithuanian Investment Firms Serve 31% of EU Cross-Border Retail Clients, Overtaking Cyprus

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Two Lithuania-based investment firms served 4.9 million cross-border retail clients in 2025, representing 31% of the 15.5 million total reported to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), according to the regulator's recent report. The figure places Lithuania ahead of Cyprus, a traditional European hub for financial and investment service providers, where 78 firms served 4.2 million clients, or 27% of the total.

The number of cross-border clients served by Lithuanian firms has grown from approximately 500 in 2022 to 4.9 million in 2025. A year earlier, ESMA counted one Lithuania-based firm with 2.6 million clients. In 2025, the number of reporting firms rose to two, and their combined client base increased by nearly 90%, averaging approximately 2.4 million clients per firm, the highest of any jurisdiction covered by the report.

One of the two Lithuanian firms ranked among Europe's five largest cross-border providers by client numbers. ESMA separately reported that one Lithuanian firm served retail clients in all 29 other EU and EEA countries, though it did not specify whether both findings referred to the same company.

ESMA did not name the companies. Bank of Lithuania records suggest the established provider is likely Revolut Securities Europe, while Robinhood Europe appears to be the most plausible second firm. Robinhood's annual report confirms it received a Lithuanian MiFID licence in April 2025 and completed passporting before launching stock-token derivatives and crypto perpetual futures across parts of Europe on June 30. However, Robinhood does not disclose a corresponding European client count, preventing a definitive identification or allocation of the 4.9 million total.

Lithuania investment firms: Market Concentration and Service Mix

The Lithuanian figures reflect broader concentration in the European market. Europe's five largest cross-border investment firms served 70% of reported clients, the top 10 controlled 82%, and the top 20 accounted for 91%. The remaining 329 firms collectively served less than 4%.

Execution services were provided to 87% of active cross-border clients, compared with 11% for portfolio management and less than 1% for investment advice. None of the five largest firms offered investment advice.

The two Lithuanian firms received 2,251 complaints in 2025, an increase of 44%. Because their reported client base grew much faster, this equalled approximately 46 complaints per 100,000 clients, below the European average of 71. ESMA cautioned against interpreting the decline in relative terms as evidence of better outcomes, noting that if many clients joined during the second half of the year, complaints may not yet have had time to emerge.

The report excludes domestic and branch business, and the same person may be counted by more than one provider. The 2025 figures establish Lithuania as Europe's largest home jurisdiction by cross-border client numbers, but not how those clients were divided between its two firms.