Thursday, March 22, 2018 Stamford, CT USA — Although the names at the top of Asia’s corporate banking market were unchanged from 2017 to 2018, the industry as a whole is actually in the midst of an accelerated evolution, as large companies and a growing list of global, regional and domestic banks work to sort out who is—and who wants to be—relevant to whom. 

The results of the annual Greenwich Associates Asian Large Corporate Banking Study reveal stability at the top, with 58% of large companies in Asia (including Western multinationals) using regional leader HSBC for corporate banking.  With a market penetration score of 47%, Standard Chartered Bank is next, followed by Citi at 45%, and ANZ Bank and DBS Bank, which are statistically tied at 33%-34%. These banks are the 2018 Greenwich Share Leaders in Asian Large Corporate Banking. 

With a market penetration score of 38%, HSBC also leads in Asian Large Corporate Cash Management, followed by Citi at 34%, Standard Chartered Bank at 26%, Bank of China at 21% and DBS Bank at 18%. 

The 2018 Greenwich Quality Leaders in Asian Large Corporate Banking are ANZ Bank, Citi and DBS Bank, and in Asian Large Corporate Cash Management, BNP Paribas and Citi earn the title. 

Banks and Companies Rethink Relationships
Many large Asian companies—often those with expansive international operations—are working to preserve existing banking and treasury coverage by cementing their relationships with global and large regional Asian banks and are concentrating growing shares of their business across banking products and services in the hands of these important providers. “These companies are finding areas where their needs intersect with the largest banks’ new strategies and making sure they are positioned securely within the banks’ target market segment,” says Greenwich Associates consultant Gaurav Arora.

A sizable number of large Asian companies have decided to take the opposite approach and take advantage of the improved product and service offerings of local and domestic banks, which are moving to capitalize on the opportunities created by the shifting strategies of global and regional competitors. 

According to a new Greenwich Report, Banks and Corporates Realign Relationships in Asia, companies have “mix and match” strategies using local providers for domestic banking needs and global or Asian regional players for international coverage.  This has been a boon to banks like Bank of China and ICBC, which are ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, on the list of 2018 Greenwich Share Leaders in China for both Large Corporate Banking and Cash Management, and HDFC and State Bank of India, which top the list of Greenwich Share Leaders in both categories in India. 

Click here for the full list of 2018 Greenwich Share and Quality Leaders