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Consumer deposits at traditional financial institutions are increasingly displaying patterns of a K-shaped economy. Data from Curinos Consumer Deposit Analyzer over the past 12 months reveal a widening divergence: consumers with over $250K in total deposits at their bank continue to grow their balances at a rapid clip, while consumers in lower balance bands have seen much more subdued growth.
For much of 2025, $250K+ tier consumers saw modest growth at first, then accelerated growth in the second half, at the same time that consumers in the <$100K and $100-250K total-deposit tiers experienced balance runoff. The first few months of 2026 are displaying positive deposit growth for all consumers, but those at $250K+ tiers continue to outpace those at the lower tiers in growth.
The difference is stark: growth in deposits is 6.8% YoY for the upper tier, compared to 1% and 0.7% for each of the lower tiers, respectively (see chart). And the implication is clear: FIs looking to maintain above-average deposit growth this year need to acknowledge and prepare for greater competition in the affluent space, where increasingly deposit growth is concentrated.
Indexed Balance Growth by Customer Balance Tier | Feb ‘25 – Feb ‘26
Source(s): Curinos Consumer Deposit Analyzer, Curinos Analysis. | Note(s): Simple averages displayed. Consumer balances only. Traditional FIs only.
