Asian banks raise their game

Few would disagree that Asia's burgeoning trade flows are one of the key factors driving the region's booming transaction banking business, and nor would they dispute that local banks are in many ways in an ideal position to build sizable businesses on the back of this trend. But given that some of them have already increased their market shares often at the expense of international banks who retreated or quit the region altogether following the financial crisis, do international players regard these local players as any more competitive

Trade finance is traditionally regarded as a risk-taking business and much less technology-dependant than cash management. According to George Nast, global head...