Many large banks describe themselves as equal parts technology firms as they are financial services companies, but then shouldn’t they have relevant patents backing that notion? Well, they don’t.

In fact, a new report showed that technology company IBM has five times more fintech patents than the world’s 15 largest banks combined. The report, released yesterday by Cipher, shows that Microsoft has four times the fintech patents of these 15 banks, and Google has more than half that amount.

Nigel Swycher, CEO at Cipher, said in the report:

This patent gap leaves banks in a vulnerable position. Fintech is key to the future of money and will disrupt every aspect of the financial services industry. Without a strong patent portfolio, banks will have less control and influence, leaving tech companies holding all the cards. This could cost them dearly as they are forced to pay out vast sums of money for royalties and licensing fees just to secure their standing in the sector.

Among the world’s 15 largest banks surveyed in this report, Bank of America has by far the most fintech patents at 2,547. Bank Innovation previously reported that BofA had the highest blockchain patents among its peers, totaling north of 250. This Cipher report echoes the same.

“On average, BoA’s competitors hold only 6% as many patents as the Charlotte-based bank,” the report stated.

The report shows that overall, American banks have more fintech patents than other banks across the world. For example: Europe’s Deutsche Bank has only one fintech patent; French bank BNP Paribas has only three, while Japan Post Bank has 44, according to the Cipher report.

The larger U.S. banks, however, on average have significantly more. Aside from BofA, banks like Capital One and JPMorgan Chase all have over a few hundred patents.

Within fintech, artificial intelligence is the most popular area where banks are gathering patents, followed by blockchain and then Internet of Things, according to the report.

Take a look at Cipher’s full IP Strategy Report, here.