Integrating Trade Finance and Cash Management: A Middle-Market Winner
Report Summary
Integrating Trade Finance and Cash Management: A Middle-Market Winner
Of surveyed middle-market companies, 69% consider a bank’s ability to integrate trade finance and cash management functionalities an important factor when selecting a bank.
Boston, MA, November 5, 2008 – A new report from Aite Group, LLC makes a case for banks to integrate their trade finance and cash management services to best appeal to middle-market businesses and differentiate themselves from the competition. It also provides insight into the perceptions of middle-market companies regarding bank support for both trade finance and cash management, including the importance these companies ascribe to having a single bank provider for both services. It also includes product and service suggestions for solutions targeted at integrating trade finance and cash management. The report is based on data received from two Aite Group surveys: a survey of 40 U.S. and 25 Canadian middle-market companies conducted in Q2 2008, and a survey of trade finance managers at 19 of the top 100 global banks during Q2 and Q3 2008.
Middle-market companies generally indicate a desire for their bank to offer both cash management and trade finance services; of surveyed middle-market businesses, 69% say it is "very important" to "extremely important" in their company's choice of bank that it offer both services. Among a number of functions that can be integrated - including online reporting, foreign exchange, exceptions resolution and customer serving - middle-market companies prefer online reporting, with 79% of respondents indicating that the function of online reporting via a single sign-on is "very important" to "extremely important".
"Middle-market companies should be significant targets for banks' integrated strategies regarding trade finance and cash management," says Nancy Atkinson, senior analyst with Aite Group and co-author of this report. "The size of middle-market companies makes them more amenable to combining these services than large corporations or small businesses. These companies look to their banks to assist them with internal efficiencies and process improvements for both cash management and trade finance. By better integrating trade finance with cash management, banks can strengthen their relationship with this lucrative market segment."
This 20-page Impact Note contains 16 figures. Clients of Aite Group's Wholesale Banking service can download the report.