BB&T and Frost Bank Each Win Nine Awards
BB&T and Frost Bank share top honors by each claiming nine 2012 Greenwich Excellence Awards in Middle Market Banking.
Every year, Greenwich Associates recognizes banks whose middle market commercial banking clients cite them for superior performance in Overall Client Satisfaction and 12 other relationship and product categories, including Credit Policy, Financial Stability, Relationship Manager Performance, Treasury Management, Online Services, and Likelihood to Recommend. Awards are given on both a national and regional level.
For 2012, BB&T and Frost National Bank each won seven national awards and two regional awards. Huntington National Bank and Synovus Financial each won a total of eight Greenwich Excellence Awards, followed by SunTrust and City National Bank, each with seven.
Intense Competition in Middle Market Loans
Competition in middle market banking has reached a level of intensity not seen since 2006-2007, with pricing and conditions returning to pre-recessionary levels. In an environment of such tough competition in pricing and terms, banks are looking to differentiate themselves from rivals by offering truly superior service. The average scores for the vast majority of metrics have increased by 5-10 percentage points from 2009 levels, indicating the new raised bar in customer service. Banks are continually examining ways to distinguish themselves through the quality of service delivered through relationship managers, bank branches and online platforms.
Tepid Demand for Credit
As 2013 gets underway, credit conditions could hardly be more favorable for middle market companies. Revenue-hungry banks are eager to rebuild loan books — especially in advance of the arrival of new capital rules that could soon alter the economics of this business. Banks prepared to compete aggressively for lending business are finding only tepid demand from middle market companies.
U.S. companies have yet to be convinced that recent positive signs represent the start of a more robust economic recovery—especially with the next round in the federal debt battle scheduled for next month. “In addition, after years of credit crisis, recession and sluggish growth, these companies have shed costs and learned how to live lean and without need of much credit,” says Greenwich Associates consultant David Heiner. “Until companies start investing again for growth, we expect the supply-demand imbalance in middle market credit to remain in place.”
Greenwich Middle Market Banking Excellence Awards
Greenwich Excellence Awards are determined by banks’ performance in Greenwich Associates annual U.S. Middle Market Banking Research Study, in which decision-makers from more than 14,000 businesses with $10–$500 million in annual sales name the banks they use and rate them in 13 banking and treasury management categories. Recognition is based on statistical differentiation at a 95% confidence level.
At the National level, Greenwich Excellence Awards are given out in a broad range of Corporate Banking categories including Overall Satisfaction, Likelihood to Recommend, Relationship Manager Performance, Credit Policy and Financial Stability, Leadership in International Services, Website Performance, and Personal Banking Satisfaction. Greenwich Associates also names Excellence Award winners in the following Treasury Management categories: Overall Satisfaction, Accuracy of Operations, Customer Service, Product Capabilities, and Sales Specialist Performance. Greenwich Excellence Awards for Overall Satisfaction are also presented for Banking and Treasury Management in the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West regions.