Do China tech giants pose a risk for European banks?

PARIS – China’s Ant group may have been dealt a setback with the shelving of its IPO but European banks remain wary that Chinese tech giants may soon be their main competitors.

The European finance sector has in recent years seen the emergence of a large number of startups — called fintech — which have sought to disrupt brick and mortar banks by offering digital services.

While they have yet to really threaten established banks, the fintechs have forced them to dust off their operations and invest massively into providing similar digital services.

“The real competitor of tomorrow will likely be the GAFAM or the Ants of the world which have the capacity to invest considerable sums,” the head of France’s Societe Generale bank,…