Who are Fulton Financial Corporation's competitors, and what are the alternatives?
Fulton's 2025 10-K, filed February 27, 2026, says it faces direct competition from local, regional and national banks, credit unions and non-bank entities across a five-state market of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, and names FinTechs, private equity and private debt funds and marketplace lenders among non-bank rivals. FDIC deposit data for June 30, 2025 show where it leads and where it does not. In its home Lancaster market Fulton holds 28.40% of deposits, ahead of Truist (14.46%), PNC (9.50%) and Wells Fargo (5.77%). In the Philadelphia market, where it has 74 offices, it holds 1.30%, against TD Bank's 15.62%, Wells Fargo's 5.31%, PNC's 4.46%, Bank of America's 4.06% and Citizens' 3.58%. In Baltimore Bank of America (27.58%) and M&T (21.86%) lead and Fulton holds 1.19%. Its acquisition of Blue Foundry in Northern New Jersey, converted on July 11, 2026, puts it closer to Valley, headquartered in Morristown. Among peers by size, F.N.B. competes in Lancaster and Baltimore and Atlantic Union in Maryland. The non-bank rivals are clearest in small-business and consumer banking: Bluevine, now being bought by Valley, served about 175,000 active small-business customers, Chime had 10.4 million active members in June 2026, and Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub) grew originations 29% in Q2 2026.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Data as of Oct 19, 2026 · Fulton profile updated Oct 13, 2026 · computed tables recalculate from the 140 bank profiles on this site · Markdown
What does Fulton say about its competition?
"The banking and financial services industries are highly competitive. Within our geographic region, we face direct competition from other commercial banks, varying in size from local community banks to regional and national banks, credit unions and non-bank entities. As a result of the wide availability of electronic delivery channels, we also face competition from financial institutions that do not have a physical presence in our geographic markets."[1]
"The industry is also highly competitive due to the various types of entities that now compete aggressively for customers that were traditionally served only by the banking industry. Under the current financial services regulatory framework, banks, insurance companies and securities firms may affiliate under a financial holding company structure, allowing their expansion into non-banking financial services activities that had previously been restricted. ... Moreover, we face increased competition from certain non-bank entities, such as FinTechs, private equity funds, private debt funds and marketplace lenders, that in many cases, are not subject to the same regulatory compliance requirements as us."[1]
From the risk factors of the same 10-K: "We face substantial competition in all phases of our operations from a variety of competitors, including national banks, regional banks, community banks and FinTechs. Many of our competitors offer the same banking services that we offer and our success depends on our ability to adapt our products and services to evolving industry standards and customer preferences. In addition to product and service offerings, we compete based on a number of other factors, including financial and other terms, underwriting standards, technological capabilities, brand, and reputation."[1]
"Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements or are technology focused start-ups with internally developed cloud-native systems that offer improved user interfaces and experiences. Due to our size, we may face challenges in allocating sufficient resources to keep pace with technological investments and improvements implemented by our larger competitors. In addition, new payment, credit and investment and wealth management services developed and offered by non-bank or non-traditional competitors pose an increasing threat to the products and services traditionally provided by financial institutions like us." (2025 Form 10-K, filed February 27, 2026.)[1]
Who competes with Fulton in each of its businesses?
| Business line | Competitor | Type | Why it competes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home region: Lancaster and central Pennsylvania | Truist | Bank | Second in the Lancaster market behind Fulton, with 14.46% of deposits from 19 offices at June 30, 2025 against Fulton's 28.40% from 20; Truist also holds 9.74% of Baltimore deposits.[2][4] |
| Home region: Lancaster and central Pennsylvania | PNC | Bank | Pittsburgh-based and present across Fulton's footprint: 9.50% of Lancaster deposits, 4.46% in Philadelphia from 132 offices and 9.84% in Baltimore (June 30, 2025).[2][3][4] |
| Home region: Lancaster and central Pennsylvania | F.N.B. Corporation | Bank | A Pittsburgh-based member of Fulton's proxy peer group with 2.97% of Lancaster and 3.07% of Baltimore deposits (June 30, 2025), and plans for about 30 new Southeast and Mid-Atlantic branches over five years.[10][2][4][11] |
| Home region: Lancaster and central Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo | Bank | A national bank of the kind Fulton's 10-K names: 5.77% of Lancaster deposits, 5.31% of Philadelphia deposits from 136 offices and 7.53% in Baltimore (June 30, 2025).[1][2][3][4] |
| Home region: Lancaster and central Pennsylvania | Community banks in Lancaster County | Bank | Fulton's 10-K names local community banks among its direct competitors; in Lancaster, The Ephrata National Bank held 9.96% of deposits from 16 offices and Bank of Bird-in-Hand 7.08% from 10 at June 30, 2025.[1][2] |
| Retail deposits in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey | TD Bank (U.S.) | Bank | The branch leader in greater Philadelphia: 15.62% of deposits from 121 offices at June 30, 2025, against Fulton's 1.30% from 74.[3] |
| Retail deposits in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey | Citizens Financial Group | Bank | Runs 137 offices in the Philadelphia market, the most of any bank there, with 3.58% of deposits (June 30, 2025), and 2.01% of Lancaster deposits.[3][2] |
| Retail deposits in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey | M&T Bank | Bank | Second in Baltimore with 21.86% of deposits from 90 offices, and 2.40% in Philadelphia and 3.69% in Lancaster (June 30, 2025).[4][3][2] |
| Retail deposits in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey | Bank of America | Bank | The deposit leader in Baltimore, 27.58% from 61 offices, and 4.06% of Philadelphia deposits (June 30, 2025).[4][3] |
| Retail deposits in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey | Santander Bank (U.S.) | Bank | Competes in both of Fulton's Pennsylvania anchor markets: 1.21% of Philadelphia deposits from 49 offices and 1.65% of Lancaster deposits from 3 offices at June 30, 2025.[3][2] |
| Retail deposits in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey | Chime | Fintech | A FinTech of the kind Fulton's 10-K says competes without a physical presence in its markets; Chime's own 10-K claims a cost advantage over traditional banks by avoiding branches, and it had 10.4 million active members at June 30, 2026.[1][12][8] |
| Commercial banking in the Mid-Atlantic | Valley National Bancorp | Bank | A Morristown, New Jersey bank in Fulton's proxy peer group; Fulton's Blue Foundry deal, merged and converted on July 11, 2026, extended Fulton into Northern New Jersey.[10][6][5][13] |
| Commercial banking in the Mid-Atlantic | Atlantic Union Bankshares | Bank | A Richmond, Virginia member of Fulton's proxy peer group that serves more than 800,000 customers across four jurisdictions and held 2.14% of Baltimore deposits at June 30, 2025, after its Sandy Spring deal closed.[10][14][15][4] |
| Commercial banking in the Mid-Atlantic | PNC | Bank | Pittsburgh-based, with about $603 billion of assets and a stated $1 trillion ambition, against Fulton's roughly $34 billion; it is present in Lancaster, Philadelphia and Baltimore.[16][17][5][2][3][4] |
| Commercial banking in the Mid-Atlantic | M&T Bank | Bank | A larger lender across Fulton's Maryland and Pennsylvania markets, with more than $1.2 billion of technology spending in 2025, of the kind Fulton's 10-K says can out-invest it.[18][4][1] |
| Small business banking and payments | Bluevine | Fintech | A digital small-business bank of the kind Fulton's 10-K calls a technology-focused start-up; it reported over 1 million lifetime small-business customers in June 2026, and Valley agreed to buy it for about $340 million in September 2026.[1][19][20] |
| Small business banking and payments | Square (Block) | Payments company | Block's 10-K lists banks that provide payment processing, checking, savings, loans and payroll among Square's competitors; Fulton launched CashFlow Central, a payments hub for small businesses, on October 7, 2026.[21][22] |
| Consumer lending | Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub) | Fintech | A marketplace lender of the kind Fulton's 10-K names; renamed Happen Bank on June 22, 2026, it reported 29% originations growth in Q2 2026.[1][23][9] |
How do the AI and digital offerings of Fulton's competitors compare?
Fulton first, then each competitor. Use-case counts, index scores and latest moves are computed from our profiles of each company; "No profile" means this site has no page on it yet.
| Company | AI or digital offering | On the record (our profiles) | Latest dated AI move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton Financial Corporation (this page) | Not disclosed | Index 44.3 (#66); 12 use cases, 10 in production | Contact-centre manager describes Fulton's AI journey with NICE (Sep 30, 2026)[24] |
| Truist | Truist Assist: 12.5 million+ requests from 2023 to March 2026[25] | Index 82.6 (#16); 15 use cases, 13 in production | Mid-table on AI-judged reputation (Sep 18, 2026)[26] |
| PNC | A new mobile app built with about 115 AI agents for about 8 million app users (July 2026)[27] | Index 68.2 (#38); 14 use cases, 8 in production | Head of ATM Banking hired with an AI mandate (Sep 25, 2026)[28] |
| F.N.B. Corporation | eStore Common app (50+ products in one application) and 10 AI-enabled fraud tools[29][30] | Index 60.2 (#47); 15 use cases, 9 in production | 16th for customer reputation (Aug 17, 2026)[31] |
| Wells Fargo | Fargo virtual assistant: more than 1 billion interactions (March 2026)[32] | Index 88.8 (#7); 16 use cases, 13 in production | Q3 2026 call: AI agents in code, marketing, cyber, underwriting (Oct 13, 2026)[33][34] |
| Community banks in Lancaster County | Not disclosed | No profile | Not disclosed |
| TD Bank (U.S.) | 1,800 US developers on GitHub Copilot and a vendor voice AI agent aimed at about 50% of incoming calls (September 2026)[35] | Index 91.8 (#4); 18 use cases, 13 in production | Agentic AI extended to mortgage funding and discharge (Oct 13, 2026)[36] |
| Citizens Financial Group | CiZi assistant: call volume down 44% (June 2026)[37] | Index 85.3 (#11); 20 use cases, 10 in production | Q4 2026 Business Pulse: small-business AI spending rising (Sep 29, 2026)[38] |
| M&T Bank | Microsoft Copilot for 16,000 of 22,000 employees; gen-AI call summaries save about 6 minutes a call[39][40] | Index 75.5 (#28); 14 use cases, 10 in production | Rajwani on AI agents and deposit runs (Oct 1, 2026)[41] |
| Bank of America | Erica virtual assistant: more than 24.6 million clients helped[42] | Index 97.3 (#1); 18 use cases, 16 in production | Treasury, FinCEN and OCC impose $1.21 billion in AML and sanctions penalties (Oct 13, 2026)[43][44][45] |
| Santander Bank (U.S.) | ONE Transformation: shared platforms, AI for every employee, agentic commerce[46][47][48][49][50] | Index 87.2 (#8); 15 use cases, 10 in production | Riley: AI lets her 'vibe code' a CRM tool herself (Oct 1, 2026)[51] |
| Chime | Jade, an in-app AI financial partner for some members[52] | 8 use cases, 6 in production | Agreement to acquire Stride Bank (Sep 8, 2026)[53] |
| Valley National Bancorp | Valley's AI Assistant and a voice AI agent in collections[54][55] | Index 76.6 (#26); 17 use cases, 13 in production | Robbins on CNBC: AI agents not a threat to regional banks (Sep 29, 2026)[56] |
| Atlantic Union Bankshares | Automated validation of more than 80 million data values in the Sandy Spring conversion[57] | Index 53.7 (#52); 12 use cases, 5 in production | Second-quarter 10-Q repeats the AI risk language (Aug 6, 2026)[58] |
| Bluevine | AI chatbot handling about 80% of inbound inquiries[59] | 7 use cases, 5 in production | Lean Team Economy Report (Oct 7, 2026)[60] |
| Square (Block) | Managerbot, an AI business agent for Square sellers[61] | 7 use cases, 6 in production | Q2 2026: Moneybot passes 1 million weekly engaged accounts (Aug 5, 2026)[62] |
| Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub) | Penny, an AI member-service agent that resolves 30% more calls than the system it replaced[63] | 7 use cases, 6 in production | Q2 2026: Penny AI agent and servicing tools reported (Jul 27, 2026)[9][63] |
Who should look beyond Fulton, and where?
| If you are | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Customers who want an in-app AI assistant | Bank of America (Erica), Wells Fargo (Fargo) or Truist (Truist Assist) | Fulton's AI sits behind the contact centre (NICE agent assist and summaries) and in employee tools; it has no branded customer assistant on the record. Erica has helped more than 24.6 million clients and Fargo passed 1 billion interactions in March 2026; all three banks compete in Fulton's markets.[24][64][42][32][25][2] |
| People who need branches outside Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia | JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America or PNC | Fulton had 204 financial centers, all in its five-state market, at December 31, 2025. Chase reported 5,083 branches in 2025 and Bank of America runs 3,500 financial centers in more than 100 US markets.[1][65][42] |
| Customers who want a branchless, app-only checking account | Chime | Fulton is a branch-based community bank. Chime's model avoids branches and ATMs, it had 10.4 million active members at June 30, 2026, and some members can use Jade, its in-app AI financial partner.[1][12][8][52] |
| Small businesses that want an online-only account and line of credit | Bluevine | Bluevine serves small businesses digitally and contains about 80% of inbound inquiries with AI, per Valley's deal presentation; Valley expects to close its purchase in early 2027. Fulton serves small businesses through branches and launched CashFlow Central in October 2026.[59][20][22] |
| Borrowers who want a personal loan applied for and serviced online | Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub) | Fulton's 10-K names marketplace lenders among its non-bank competitors. Happen, renamed from LendingClub on June 22, 2026, reported 29% originations growth in Q2 2026, and its Penny AI agent resolves 30% more member calls than the system it replaced.[1][23][9][63] |
| Philadelphia-area customers who want the densest local branch network | TD Bank or Citizens | At June 30, 2025 TD Bank had 121 offices and 15.62% of Philadelphia-market deposits and Citizens 137 offices; Fulton had 74 offices and 1.30%.[3] |
What AI do Fulton's main rivals put in front of customers?
One line per rival, from each one's own disclosures or this site's profiles.
| Rival | Customer-facing AI on the record | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Fulton | NICE Autopilot self-service and chat; an AI chatbot for Blue Foundry customers | December 2024 to July 2026[66][24][67] |
| Citizens | CiZi assistant, with call volume down 44% | June 2026[37] |
| PNC | A mobile app rebuilt with about 115 AI agents | July 2026[27] |
| Truist | Truist Assist, 12.5 million+ requests since 2023 | March 2026[25] |
| Chime | Jade in-app AI financial partner | September 2026[52] |
Who are Fulton Bank's biggest competitors?
By deposits in its own markets: Truist and PNC in Lancaster, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, PNC, Bank of America and Citizens in Philadelphia, and Bank of America and M&T in Baltimore (FDIC, June 30, 2025). Among similar-sized banks, F.N.B., Valley and Atlantic Union, all in Fulton's proxy peer group. Its 10-K also names credit unions, FinTechs and marketplace lenders.[2][3][4][10][1]
What is Fulton's market share in Lancaster?
Fulton held 28.40% of deposits in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania market at June 30, 2025, about $5.0 billion from 20 offices, the largest share. Truist was second with 14.46%, followed by The Ephrata National Bank (9.96%) and PNC (9.50%).[2]
Is PNC a competitor of Fulton?
Yes, across most of Fulton's footprint: PNC held 9.50% of Lancaster deposits, 4.46% in Philadelphia and 9.84% in Baltimore at June 30, 2025. On technology PNC is far larger, with about $3.5 billion of annual technology spend; Fulton reported $75.1 million of data processing and software expense in 2025.[2][3][4][27][1]
Is Chime a competitor of Fulton?
By category, in everyday checking. Fulton's 10-K says electronic delivery channels expose it to competitors without a physical presence in its markets and names FinTechs among its rivals; Chime had 10.4 million active members at June 30, 2026. Neither company names the other.[1][8]
What are alternatives to Fulton for small business banking?
Bluevine, a digital small-business bank that Valley agreed to buy in September 2026, and Square, whose parent Block lists banks among its competitors in payments and loans. Among banks, F.N.B. sells business deposit products through its eStore Common app. Fulton launched its CashFlow Central payments hub in October 2026.[20][21][68][22]
Does Fulton compete with Valley in New Jersey?
More directly since July 11, 2026, when Fulton merged Blue Foundry Bank, a Northern New Jersey bank it bought for $243 million in stock, into Fulton Bank and converted its systems. Valley is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey and sits in Fulton's 2025 proxy peer group.[5][13][6][10]
Who competes with Fulton in Philadelphia?
TD Bank leads the Philadelphia market by branches with 121 offices and 15.62% of deposits, followed by Wells Fargo, PNC, Bank of America and Citizens, which runs 137 offices (FDIC, June 30, 2025). Fulton holds 1.30% from 74 offices, a footprint it nearly doubled in 2024 by taking over Republic First Bank from the FDIC.[3][69]
Who competes with Fulton in Maryland?
In the Baltimore market Bank of America (27.58% of deposits) and M&T (21.86%, from 90 offices) lead, followed by PNC (9.84%), Truist (9.74%) and Wells Fargo (7.53%), FDIC data for June 30, 2025 show. F.N.B. (3.07%) and Atlantic Union (2.14%) are the peer-sized rivals there; Fulton holds 1.19% from 11 offices.[4]
Is Bluevine a competitor of Fulton?
In small-business banking, by category. Fulton's 10-K names technology-focused start-ups with cloud-native systems and FinTechs among its competitors; Bluevine, a digital small-business bank with over 1 million lifetime customers, is being bought by Valley, a Fulton proxy peer, with closing expected in early 2027. Neither Fulton nor Bluevine names the other.[1][19][20][10]
- Fulton Financial Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Summary of Deposits, deposit market share: Lancaster, PA MSA (reporting period June 30, 2025)
- Summary of Deposits, deposit market share: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA (reporting period June 30, 2025)
- Summary of Deposits, deposit market share: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA (reporting period June 30, 2025)
- Fulton Financial Merges Its Blue Foundry Bank Subsidiary into Fulton Bank, N.A.
- Valley National Bancorp Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Valley National Bancorp to Acquire Bluevine Inc., Accelerating Its Digital Small Business Growth Strategy and Meaningfully Enhancing Its Core Funding Capabilities
- Chime Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
- Happen, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
- Fulton Financial Corporation 2026 Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A)
- FNB Corp. is the latest bank to plot growth in the Southeast
- Chime Financial, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- Fulton to acquire money-losing New Jersey bank for $243M
- Atlantic Union Bank Selects Spiral to Boost Customer Savings and Community Impact Through Everyday Banking
- Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation Completes Acquisition of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc.
- Why PNC is building its own 'AI factory'
- The CEO Who Wants to Double the Size of His Bank to $1 Trillion
- M&T Bank expands enterprise AI after years of technology overhaul
- Bluevine Surpasses 1 Million Small Businesses Served, $2 Billion on Deposit, $17 Billion in Originations
- Valley National Bancorp to Acquire Bluevine Inc., Accelerating its Digital Small Business Growth Strategy and Meaningfully Enhancing its Core Funding Capabilities
- Block, Inc. Annual Report 2025 (Form 10-K)
- Fulton Bank Introduces CashFlow Central Platform to Empower Small Businesses
- LendingClub Officially Becomes Happen Bank, Marking a New Chapter for the Digital-First Bank
- Fulton Bank: Frictionless for Customers, Frictionless for Agents
- Exhibit 99.3: First quarter 2026 earnings presentation (Form 8-K)
- People use AI to gauge banks' reputations, and its verdicts are harsh
- PNC's new mobile banking app built on personalization
- Mark Williamson hired as Head of ATM Banking
- F.N.B. Corporation Further Expands eStore Common Application Capabilities with Introduction of Business Loan Products
- F.N.B. Corporation Investor Day presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Top Banks by Reputation 2026: Customers
- Wells Fargo Reaches Major Digital Milestones
- Wells Fargo Enhances Banking Capabilities Using AI and Digital Assets
- Wells Fargo Reports Third Quarter 2026 Net Income of $6.0 billion, or $1.87 per Diluted Share
- TD Bank Targets 100 U.S. Branches as AML Remediation Continues
- TD expands agentic AI across mortgage operations to make banking faster, simpler and more human
- Citizens Financial's Michael Ruttledge is #43 on the Most Innovative People in Finance ranking
- Citizens Q4 2026 Business Pulse Finds Rising Small Business Optimism Amid Steady Hiring and Increased AI Spending
- How M&T Bank ensures data quality as it implements gen AI
- How this Buffalo-based bank is using tech as a competitive edge
- AI agent bank runs possible but unlikely, experts say
- Bank of America Fast Facts (undated page, retrieved 2026-10-19)
- U.S. Treasury Announces Record Enforcement Actions Against Bank of America
- OCC Imposes $750 Million Assessment Against Bank of America for Deficient BSA/AML Compliance
- BofA fined $1.21 billion over AML
- Santander's Botin Sees €1 Billion AI Boost Amid Efficiency Push
- Santander Equips All Workers With AI and Seeks $1.15 Billion Business Value
- Santander's Getnet Plugs Merchants Into Agentic Commerce
- Santander, Webster lay out post-deal management plan
- Santander Expands U.S. Presence with Completion of Webster Acquisition
- The Most Powerful Women in Banking Women to Watch, #1, Christiana Riley, Santander U.S.
- What is Jade Financial Partner? (help centre, retrieved 2026-09-23)
- Chime Announces Agreement to Acquire Stride Bank
- Valley Bank exec: AI is changing build-versus-buy question
- Valley National Bancorp first quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Valley National CEO Ira Robbins: AI agents not a threat to regional banks
- #31 Atlantic Union's CIO automated his way through a $14 billion merger
- Atlantic Union Bankshares Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026
- Accelerating Valley's National Digital Banking Franchise: Acquisition of Bluevine Inc. (investor presentation)
- Bluevine Study Finds More Than Half of SMBs Use AI to Handle Workload of at Least One Employee
- Square Brings Managerbot to More Sellers, Giving Main Street an Intelligent Business Agent
- Q2 2026 Shareholder Letter (Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K)
- Happen’s Digital Banking Push Helps Deposits Jump 18%
- Five Big Ideas Coming Out of Dreamforce 2026
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025
- Fulton Bank Revolutionizes Financial Services Interactions with NiCE CXone Copilot and Autopilot
- Welcome Blue Foundry!
- FNB Adds Business Platform to eStore Common Application
- Fulton Financial Corporation Acquires Substantially All of the Assets and Assumes Substantially All of the Deposits of Republic First Bank From the FDIC
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