FinanceICBC, Tencent among companies leading 10-fold surge from previous decadeIndustrial and Commercial Bank of China and Tencent were among the top five companies globally in fintech patent filings over the past decade. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Nikkei and Reuters)SHOGO FURUTAJuly 7, 2026 02:01 JSTTOKYO -- Chinese banks and tech companies led the world in applications for financial technology patents over the last decade, surpassing the U.S. in a field that supports a wide range of financial services from lending and asset management to cryptocurrencies.