All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
Beware the Sparkassen
Germanys retail banking market is set for profound change following Deutsche Posts announcement that it wants to sell its 50 percent stake in the largest retail player, Deutsche Postbank Whatever the outcome, however, the countrys retail banking market will remain dominated by its co-operative and savings banks Germany looks set to have a retail banking national champion as Deutsche Postbank, Commerzbank and Allianzs Dresdner discuss merging some or all of their respective retail banking arms together
A land of opportunity
Vietnam International Bank plans to expand its product line up and double its branch network over the next three years and is in discussions with potential foreign investors as well Optimism and foreign interest in Vietnams booming financial services sector shows no sign of waning, despite concerns about rising inflation and interest rates, a deposits price war and a lack of liquidity as a result of the government tightening monetary policy.
BBVA ups football sponsorship programme
BBVA, Spains second-largest banking group, has invested a further 60 million ($92.9 million) in its sponsorship of the Spanish professional football league, the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP), a move which will see the bank become the title sponsor of the Spanish top flight division for the first time.
Fortis rolls out five-year global ad campaign
Fortis, now the largest retail bank in the Benelux region following the takeover of ABN AMRO last year, has announced the launch of a major new global advertising campaign Life is a Curve as it readies itself for a future in which the group will have a presence in over 50 territories worldwide Adrian Martorana, general manager of global branding and communications at Fortis, told RBI the campaign is expected to run for something like the next five years, whether in the current form or slightly modified. The project, Fortiss first fully integrated advertising campaign, urges customers to consider the phrase Here today
Infosys bags huge BBVA deal
Spains BBVA and IT vendor Infosys Technologies have announced the launch of a major strategic global partnership which will see the bank implement Infosys Finacle Universal Banking Solution across its global businesses Sanat Rao, vice-president and global head, Finacle sales at Infosys, spoke to RBI about the deal Infosys has secured a major core banking upgrade deal with BBVA, a contract which in time will extend across the 31 countries in which Spains second-largest banking group currently operates
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Citi goes rural in Indian drive
While Citi has announced plans to shed up to $500 billion of non-strategic core assets, the US banking giant has stressed its commitment to India, where it remains in expansion mode Douglas Blakey talks to TR Ramachandran, head of Citi Indias retail arm, about the groups ambitions in the fast-developing country The announcement on 9 May by Citis recently appointed CEO Vikram Pandit of plans to shed up to $500 billion (or over 20 percent of the US banking groups total) in non-core assets within three years understandably sparked a wave of rumours about where the axe would fall
Bradesco remains upbeat
Bradesco remains upbeat In contrast to many European and North American banks, Brazils largest banking group, Bradesco, continues to post impressive earnings growth Its business has been boosted by higher interest rates and efficiency gains as well as robust growth in its insurance and lending businesses
The (second) generation game
While financial services institutions have been slower than other industries in embracing social media, an increasing number of banks have used Web 2.0 as a way of revamping images and increasing customer engagement A new report from VRL KnowledgeBank looks at banks adopting the latest web technologies Web 2.0, the popular term for advanced internet technology and applications, looks set to become an increasing part of banks marketing mix to attract more customers, especially the young and tech-savvy
NAB disappoints in Australian satisfaction poll
According to the benchmark annual poll ranking Australian banks in terms of customer satisfaction by local market research group Roy Morgan Research (RMR), National Australia Bank (NAB), the countrys second largest bank by assets, has displaced Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the countrys largest, as the least popular retail bank in the country
All change in Australia?
The A$15 billion all-share deal, if successfully completed, will also be seen as a huge coup for Gail Kelly, Westpacs new CEO and ex-CEO of St George.Against a backdrop of growing impatience over Australias four pillars banking policy, which prohibits the countrys Big Four banks from merging or buying each other, Westpac, the countrys fourth-largest financial group by assets, has made a bold, A$15 billion bid to buy fifth-placed St George.Despite becoming the biggest player in nearly all consumer banking markets Westpac itself says the entity will be Australias leading provider of home lending with a market share of 25 percent and the largest wealth platform provider with funds under administration of A$108 billion the combined company would still substantially lag Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in terms of consumer deposits (see table below).The merger still requires the approval of a range of regulatory authorities as well as the Federal Treasurer Moreover, it may flush out other Australian and foreign bidders.At a pivotal timeThe move comes at a pivotal time in the evolution of Australias retail banking industry and follows a number of mergers, acquisitions and disposals among smaller Australian players over the past year (Westpac is still digesting the A$140 million acquisition last October of the RAMS Home Loans franchise).It also comes at a time when the Big Four are investing heavily in their retail banking operations, rolling out major consumer banking campaigns focused on price cuts, branch-led customer service or product innovation as they jostle for market share in one of the worlds most competitive retail banking markets.Three months after its far-reaching Determined To Be Different marketing and branding campaign (see RBI 587), CBA, for instance, has also announced plans for a four-year, A$580 million IT overhaul in league with Germanys SAP (see RBI 591)