Big banks and investment firms around the world are solidifying their leadership in key markets with high-quality client service, says Greenwich Associates in a new report.
The firm reports that, while the world’s biggest banks took difficult steps last year to de-risk and meet stringent new capital requirements, they were also maintaining, and in many cases increasing, their market share in critical capital markets and investment banking businesses. “They did so by delivering superior service quality to institutional and corporate clients around the world,” it says.
Every year, Greenwich Associates recognizes banks that provide institutional and corporate clients with the highest quality service and products by naming “Greenwich Quality Leaders” in five geographic regions in a variety of businesses including securities trading, debt and equity capital markets, corporate banking, cash and treasury management, derivatives trading, and foreign exchange.
For 2011, it reports, Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan were the global leaders, each named as quality leaders in 12 categories. The closest competitor to those firms was HSBC, which was named in 10 categories.
“In every regional market in the world, businesses such as securities trading, debt and equity capital markets, foreign exchange, and treasury management are dominated by the largest regional player or players and a small handful of global competitors,” says Greenwich Associates CEO, Steve Busby.
“While the world’s biggest banks continue to face significant challenges, their competitive positions in these key business lines have not been weakened, and in some cases are actually stronger than they were before the onset of the global crisis,” he adds.
For Canada, RBC Capital Markets led the way, as it was named a quality leader in eight categories, followed by BMO Capital Markets, which won that designation in six categories. “RBC Capital Markets’ market-leading position derives from a universal platform featuring strength and depth in capabilities across the product suite,” says Greenwich Associates consultant, Peter Kane. “BMO Capital Markets’ success in this year’s Greenwich Quality Leaders program can be attributed largely to the firm’s top-rated capabilities in Canadian equity sales, research, trading, and capital markets.”
In the U.S., Bank of America Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan were both named in seven categories. Deutsche Bank led the way in Europe, where it was named in nine categories, far outpacing the other top pan-European competitors, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas and J.P. Morgan, which were each named in three categories. HSBC led the rankings in Asia (ex Japan) by being named in seven categories, followed by Morgan Stanley, Citi, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets and Deutsche Bank. And, in Japan, Nomura Securities dominates as the top quality provider in eight categories; followed by Mizuho Securities, which was named in three categories.