2014 Greenwich Share & Quality Leaders Announced in Asian Trade Finance

According to a new report from Greenwich Associates, Favorable Pricing Helps to Fuel Use of Trade Finance Across Asia, companies are utilizing trade finance as a new source of capital and for process improvement in working capital management.

For the past several years, the leading trade finance providers in Asia had been losing market share to local providers with expansion ambitions and banks from Japan and elsewhere. These new competitors won client relationships largely on the basis of aggressive pricing.

“The strong and growing supply of new providers has resulted in a highly competitive market—much to the benefit of companies looking to utilize trade finance with high quality service and very low prices,” says Greenwich Associates consultant Paul Tan.

When selecting a provider, companies are looking specifically for banks with robust international networks, with an emphasis on the fast-growing intra-Asian corridors, as opposed to inter-continental coverage.

Greenwich Leaders
At the top of this diverse market is HSBC. Forty-two percent of large companies across Asia use HSBC for trade finance. Next is Standard Chartered Bank with a market penetration level of 36%, followed by Citi at 31%, and Deutsche Bank and ANZ Bank, which are tied at 27% and 26%, respectively. These banks are the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders in Asian Large Corporate Trade Finance. The 2014 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Asian Large Corporate Trade Finance are ANZ Bank, Citi and HSBC.

"Over the past 12 months, ANZ Bank and BNP Paribas have gained notable visability in Asian trade finance and are now emerging as significant alternatives to the regional incumbents,” Paul Tan says.

In China, Bank of China maintains a dominant position in trade finance with a market penetration level of 52% followed by HSBC (37%) and Deutsche Bank (34%). These banks are the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders in Large Corporate Trade Finance in China. The 2014 Greenwich Quality Leader is Deutsche Bank.

Standard Chartered Bank leads the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders in Large Corporate Trade Finance in India with a market penetration level of 52%, followed by the trio of HSBC, State Bank of India and Citi. The 2014 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Indian Large Corporate Trade Finance is Citi.

HSBC dominates in Hong Kong, leading the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders with a 61% market penetration level and is also the 2014 Greenwich Quality Leader. Standard Chartered Bank and ANZ Bank round out the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders in Trade Finance – Hong Kong. In Singapore, the 2014 Greenwich Share Leaders are a three-way tie between HSBC, DBS Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.