Banks begin great financial retrenchment
Raiffeisen stresses commitment to CEE
While no big US or European bank has emerged unscathed from the financial crisis clearly some are in better shape than others. For those that have eschewed capital support from their government or are well placed to relieve themselves of it soon there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the misery of weaker rivals
In the capital markets business for example, Ivor Dunbar, co-head of global capital markets at Deutsche Bank, says: "It’s a really good opportunity for the top tier firms to take greater market share. The bigger, stronger banks are continuing to expand."
Richard Meddings, chief financial officer at Standard Chartered, another bank that has weathered the worst of the storm so far, says: "The relative competitive pecking order of banks is changing. We’re seeing market share gains, for example, across a number of different areas."
He adds: "We’re also taking the opportunity to acquire businesses and people. We are able to hire a lot of talent in both our wholesale and retail businesses."
Meddings says Standard Chartered will continue to pursue growth primarily through organic means. "Acquisitions only play a complementary role.