(4 March 2019 – Global) In Q1 2019 East & Partners analysts based across Singapore, London and Sydney discussed the impact of significant market moving events in business banking as experienced by CFOs and corporate treasurers themselves, a high level overview of these discussions follows.
The ‘on the ground’ findings effectively link the demands and expectations of corporates in dealing with their bank across all segments with East & Partners bank clients strategic product and service planning and implementation.
The launch of market value analysis seeks to more clearly define the oft misunderstood ‘size of the pie’ equation for banks struggling to quantify opaque or complex markets such as Equipment Finance, Trade Finance and Business FX. Proprietary analysis incorporating dual relationship share and wallet share primary data provides a deeper understand of customer ‘quality’, highlighting a valuable area of interest for banks at a time when pressure on margins and cost savings has never been greater.
The demands of understanding and implementing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards is placing key business decision makers at a distinct disadvantage, with it suggested that many do not know where or who to turn to. East & Partners upcoming March Research Note expands on this challenging focus by compelling banks to ‘step up’ and take a defined leadership role in steering further progress. Unlike most new developments deployed at an institutional level with the most high value customer sets before being further disseminated through middle market enterprises and small businesses, an opportunity to drive change ‘bottom up’ is presenting itself. Who will act swiftly to take advantage of the opportunity first?
The impact of Brexit continues to be felt keenly by businesses finding it difficult to balance long term strategic planning in an uncertain regulatory environment against day-to-day operational needs at the ‘coal face’. Perceptions have changed markedly since East & Partners first captured demand sentiment and FX forecasts in the lead-up to the 2016 referendum, successfully predicting that the populous SME segment were ‘not afraid’ of the ramifications of a ‘Leave’ vote and most of the trepidation was restricted to large corporates grappling with the multiple impacts to complex international supply chains, pressuring FX risk and liquidity management protocols. Small businesses in fact saw Brexit as an opportunity to expand their reach into markets beyond the EU. Upcoming Global Business FX Currency Forecast analysis will provide a fascinating insight into the impact of market developments on businesses forward dated expectations for the EUR, USD, GBP, CNY, AUD and JPY.