Retail Banking Competitor Tracker - September 2009

Introduction

Datamonitor's Retail Banking Competitor Tracker is a monthly product providing updates on key events relating to major and innovative players in the retail banking sector. Covering events such as M&A activity, market entries and withdrawals, partnerships, product innovation and customer targeting on a global basis, the Retail Banking Competitor Tracker provides succinct summaries of key stories.

Scope

*Information on new product developments, mergers and acquisitions, distribution and partnerships.

*Insight on how the major retail banks are adapting to the ever changing economic climate.

Highlights

Indian banks expand at home and abroad.

Scandinavian banks continue to struggle in the wake of nationalization.

Barclays enhances its mobile banking services.

Reasons to Purchase

*Provides invaluable information on your closest competitors' strategies all in one place.

*Keeps track of how the competitive landscape is changing through M&A activities, partnerships and organic growth.

*Detailed insight into new product developments within the retail banking.

Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
Methodology 1
Table of Contents 2
Introduction 3
This tracker provides both one-month and 12-month views of developments 3
Each month Datamonitor tracks the most relevant announcements from 100 competitors 3
Datamonitor's Retail Banking Team provides analysis of the key developments at both the one-month and 12-month level 4
A fully searchable database of the past 12 months of developments is also delivered alongside the report 4
Key trends and developments in September 5
Indian banks expand at home and abroad 5
Scandinavian banks continue to struggle in the wake of nationalization 5
Barclays enhances its mobile banking services 6
Competitor activity increased in August from the levels seen in July 7
Product and service innovation stories continued to dominate the headlines in September 7
New products and initiative announcements made up the largest share of news stories in September 8
Product, Services and Innovation 10
Abbey 10
UK: Abbey and Alliance & Leicester offer £100 current account switching incentive 10
ANZ 10
Australia: ANZ simplifies fee structure on personal accounts 10
Barclays 11
UK: Barclays introduces a new mortgage deal along with a reduction in the rate of existing mortgages 11
UK: Barclays enhances its mobile banking services 11
BBVA 11
Spain: BBVA extends preferential financing conditions to self-employed workers 11
Citigroup 12
Hungary: Citibank offers revamped online internet banking for Hungarian customers 12
Turkey: Citibank introduces a special loan package during the festival season 12
China: Citibank introduces consumer credit education program 13
Deutsche Bank 13
US: Deutsche Bank purchases student loans from Northwestern University 13
HSBC Bank 13
UK: first direct slashes arrangement fees on fixed rate offset mortgages 13
UK: first direct introduces a new offset tracker mortgage 13
National Australia Bank 14
Australia: NAB waives overdrawn account fees on personal transactions and savings accounts 14
Australia: NAB introduces microfinance programs in Queensland 14
Nationwide Building Society 15
UK: Nationwide introduces range of mortgage deals 15
UK: Nationwide offers personal loans at low rates 16
Northern Rock 16
UK: Northern Rock introduces a tracker mortgage and reduces interest rate on select mortgages 16
UK: Northern Rock unveils a range of mortgages for residential purchase customers 16
RBS 17
UK: NatWest and RBS reduces the price of unarranged borrowing 17
Standard Bank of South Africa 17
South Africa: Standard Bank moderates lending criteria 17
State Bank of India 18
India: SBI offers special farm loan schemes 18
Yorkshire Bank 18
UK: Yorkshire Bank launches current account TV advertising 18
M&A, Partnerships and Organic Growth 19
Banco do Brasil 19
Brazil: Banco do Brasil acquires stake in Nossa Caixa 19
Brazil: Banco do Brasil finalizes the acquisition of Banco Votorantim 19
US: Banco do Brasil launches retail banking operations in the US 19
BBVA 20
Spain: BBVA offers financial products and services to Spanish Confederation of Police 20
Commerzbank 20
China: Commerzbank inaugurates a new branch in China 20
DBS Group 20
Singapore, Hong Kong, China: DBS partners with Agricultural Bank of China 20
HSBC 21
Poland: HSBC agrees to sell its Polish consumer finance portfolio 21
Vietnam: HSBC collaborates with Vietnam post offices to offer banking services 21
Nedbank 21
South Africa: Nedbank acquires 49.9% stake of Imperial Bank 21
Nordea 22
Denmark: Nordea agrees to buy Fionia Bank 22
Punjab National Bank (PNB) 22
India: PNB launches 131 new customer outlets across India 22
State Bank of India (SBI) 22
India: SBI partners with 3i Info to provide kiosk banking facilities to rural customers 22
India: SBI plans acquisition in UK 23
Appendix 24
Methodology 24
Further reading 24
Ask the analyst 24
Datamonitor consulting 24
Disclaimer 24
List of Tables
Table 1: The 100 companies and subsidiaries covered by Datamonitor's Retail Banking Competitor Tracker 3
List of Figures
Figure 1: September saw a balanced number of stories across M&A and Product-related areas 8
Figure 2: September brought a strong mix of product launches and new initiatives, as well as M&A news 9