Principal Financial Group

Investment bank · Des Moines, United States

Principal Financial Group is a Des Moines company listed on Nasdaq that sells workplace retirement plans, annuities, IRAs, disability and employee benefits insurance, and runs investment mandates for institutions. It reported total assets of USD 341.4 billion, USD 781 billion of assets under management and net income of USD 1,185.1 million for 2025, with about 19,000 staff in 25 nations and territories. For a business the relationship is a pension and benefits relationship, not a banking one. Its bank subsidiary, Principal Bank, is FDIC-insured but now sells only IRA certificates of deposit and money market IRAs, having discontinued checking, lending and business accounts.

Legal name: Principal Financial Group, Inc.
Regulated by: SEC (Nasdaq-listed issuer PFG), FDIC (Principal Bank deposit insurance), US state insurance departments
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 1879
Website: www.principal.com

Scores, 0 to 10

8.0Financial strength & stability

Nasdaq-listed with total assets of USD 341.4 billion, net income of USD 1,185.1 million for 2025 and a first quarter 2026 dividend raised 7 percent to USD 0.80 per share. · source

3.5Best interest on business balances

Principal Bank pays tiered interest on money market IRAs and offers CDs of 12 to 60 months, but these are individual retirement products with a USD 1,000 minimum, not a yield product for company operating balances. · source

3.0United States

Principal Bank is FDIC-insured in the United States, but it sells only IRA certificates of deposit and money market IRAs after discontinuing checking accounts, loans and business accounts. · source

3.0Lowest fees

No business account fee schedule is published because business accounts were discontinued; the only published thresholds are the USD 1,000 minimum deposits on IRA CDs and money market IRAs. · source

3.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Principal publishes no acceptable-use or prohibited-activities policy on gambling, cannabis, adult or forex clients, because it offers no business banking or acquiring to apply such a policy to. · source

2.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Principal lists offices in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, but these are asset management and pension operations with no EU banking licence and no euro business accounts. · source

2.0United Kingdom

The worldwide locations page lists England as one of its 25 markets, but there is no UK bank or e-money authorisation and no GBP business account product. · source

2.0Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

Operations in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Australia are pension and asset management businesses, with no banking licence in any APAC hub. · source

2.0Latin America, Africa & South Asia

Brazil, Chile, Mexico, India, Indonesia and the Philippines are served through pension and asset management subsidiaries and joint ventures, not through local business bank accounts. · source

2.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Principal Bank deposit products are USD only and the group offers no multi-currency account or cross-border transfer service to businesses. The group runs USD 781 billion of assets under management for institutions but offers no multi-currency accounts, cash pooling or host-to-host payment connectivity. · source

2.0Fast digital onboarding

There is no business account application at all: the bank subsidiary discontinued business accounts and now opens only retirement accounts. · source

2.0Startups & VC-backed companies

Principal sells retirement plans to employers of any size, but with no business account, card or credit product there is nothing for a pre-revenue startup to bank with. · source

2.0Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot rates Principal 1.6 out of 5, in its Bad band. · source

1.5Middle East & Gulf

The United Arab Emirates is the group's only Middle East location and it is an investment office, with no GCC banking licence and no free-zone company onboarding. · source

1.5Fintech companies that need a partner bank

No safeguarding accounts, BIN sponsorship or correspondent banking for payment firms; the bank subsidiary holds only retirement deposits. · source

1.5Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

No acquiring, collection accounts or marketplace payouts; the group's business lines are retirement, benefits and investments. No receiving accounts, no accounting or payment API and no revenue-based financing; a software company can only buy a retirement plan or benefits cover here. · source

1.5Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

The only deposit accounts on offer are US individual retirement accounts, so a foreign-owned company has nothing to apply for, whatever its ownership. · source

1.0Crypto-friendly bank

Principal Bank's product list is limited to IRA certificates of deposit and money market IRAs, so there is no fiat on-ramp account for a crypto business anywhere in the group. · source

1.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export

No letters of credit, guarantees or supply-chain finance appear anywhere in the group's stated business of retirement, benefits and investment services. · source

1.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

Principal Bank discontinued checking and business accounts, and no debit or credit card product is offered to companies. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Principal Bank now serves retirement savers only, with IRA certificates of deposit and money market IRAs, and offers no crypto wallet or custody to companies. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

Principal Bank says it dropped checking, loans and business accounts to focus solely on retirement, so no merchant or crypto acceptance product exists. · source

1.0On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

With no business or checking accounts left at Principal Bank, a company has no account there that could fund a crypto exchange. · source

1.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

Principal Bank's only deposit products are IRA CDs and money market IRAs with a 1,000 dollar minimum, so a business cannot receive crypto sale proceeds there. · source

1.0Bitcoin

Principal Bank's two IRA savings options are CDs and money market accounts; no bitcoin product is offered through the bank. · source

1.0Ethereum

No ether holding or fund is offered through Principal Bank, whose products are limited to IRA CDs and money market IRAs. · source

1.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

Principal Bank offers no stablecoin account or payout; its deposits are dollar IRA CDs and money market IRAs for individuals. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.