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