HSBC Tops List of Greenwich Leaders 2015 Share and Quality Leaders

Despite the rise of regional Asian banks, aggressive competition from Japanese lenders and the presence of several ambitious global rivals, the dominant roles of HSBC, Standard Chartered and Citi appear relatively secure.

According to a new Greenwich Report, Buyer’s Market For Asian Companies Seeking Credit, competition among a large and diverse group of banks has created a buyer’s market for companies in need of credit and other banking services.

A Diverse Landscape of Providers
When it comes to accessing providers of credit, treasury/cash management, trade finance, and other banking services, Asian companies have their pick from a wide range of options.

For one-stop-shop coverage of banking products and services, companies continue to turn largely to the “glocals” — HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Citi, the dominant incumbents with universal product/service offerings, global networks and pan-Asian, “multi-domestic” operations.

“Asian companies are also accessing the services of domestic Asian banks expanding across the region,” says Greenwich Associates consultant Gaurav Arora. “At the very top of this list are ANZ Bank and DBS Bank.  These two banks took the significant step of joining the list of Greenwich Share Leaders for the first time in 2015.”

All of these banks face one major challenge: fees kept low by fierce competition.  In the past banks could win business with credit and then increase the profitability of the relationship by selling higher margin cash management and transaction banking services. “But with margins eroding in those businesses, banks will increasingly pick their spots and differentiate their primary propositions,” says Greenwich Associates consultant Paul Tan. “The banks that succeed will be those that refine their strategies to focus on profitability and do the best job at boosting the profitability of corporate relationships by cross-selling a wide range of higher margin products and services like debt capital markets and M&A advisory.”

2015 Greenwich Share and Quality Leaders for Large Corporate Banking
HSBC tops the Asian corporate banking industry with a market penetration score of 64%. Next is Standard Chartered with 51%, followed by Citi at 47%. ANZ Bank takes the fourth spot with a market penetration of 43%, followed by Deutsche Bank and DBS Bank, which are tied at 30-31%. These banks are the 2015 Greenwich Share Leaders in Asian Corporate Banking.

The 2015 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Asian Corporate Banking are ANZ Bank, Citi and HSBC.

2015 Greenwich Share and Quality Leaders for Large Corporate Cash Management
In cash management, HSBC and Citi are tops in the industry with identical market penetration scores of 40-41%. Next is Standard Chartered at 26% and Deutsche Bank at 19%, followed by Bank of China and ANZ Bank, which are tied with market penetration scores of 13%. These banks are the 2015 Greenwich Share Leaders in Asian Large Corporate Cash Management.

The 2015 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Asian Large Corporate Cash Management are Bank of America Merrill Lynch and HSBC.