(4 August 2025 – Europe) As US President Donald Trump ratchets up his rhetoric against trading partners in Europe, corporates across the continent but especially in Asia are taking notice, Bloomberg reports.
Arno Schuetze and Ronan Martin report for Bloomberg that even before Trump’s trade war kicked off in earnest, the biggest of the US banks warned that it was starting to see an impact. Some companies have begun to diversify their banking relationships away from the giants of Wall Street according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s been a boon for Europe’s leading banks, which have been actively vying to win the extra business.
By April, JPMorgan already lost bond deals tied to tariff uncertainty with companies opting for local banks instead according to CEO Jamie Dimon in an interview with Fox Business, warning “the tumult is causing cumulative damage including huge anger at the United States.”
The latest example of a win for non-US banks came this week when Zurich-based insurer Chubb issued an offshore yuan-bond and opted for StanChart to underwrite the deal. The bank was told: “We want to bank with the regional champions, rather than just with global banks in general. Because we think that you guys bring specific skills in a world that is fragmenting” Standard Chartered CFO Diego de Giorgi stated.
The effect is most pronounced in Asia, where economies are expected to be hard hit by the changing trade regimes and the re-routing of supply chains. BNP Paribas has gained more share than any other player in Asia according to East & Partners latest Asia Cash & Payments service based on direct interviews with the Top 100 revenue ranked corporates in each of ten countries across the region (N: 1000).
East’s long running “voice of the treasurer” research confirms Standard Chartered, HSBC, Citi, and DBS continue to dominate the market despite increasing competition – reflected in record low wallet share among Asia’s largest corporates – digital disruption and evolving client expectations placing immense pressure on banks to rethink their corporate transaction strategies
“We expect to see heightened uncertainty and customer churn at US banks as large corporates take an active risk management stance on FX, interest rates, counterparty risk, geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions,” said East & Partners Global Head of Markets Analysis, Martin Smith.
“There are clearly strategic opportunities in the tectonic shifts that the world has been seeing in recent months” Societe Generale SA CEO’s Slawomir Krupa said of companies looking to shift toward European banking partners. “The logic behind this form of risk diversification has become more apparent for companies.”
