The operations of foreign bank branches in Japan dropped significantly in the year to end March 2005 with aggregate ordinary earnings falling by 23% to ¥69bn ($643m), according to KPMG’s Foreign Bank Branches in Japan Survey 2005.
The annual survey by the global financial services group shows that the number of foreign branches in Japan decreased by three during the year to 69 while aggregate total assets declined by 16% to ¥44,716bn. The survey ranks the 69 branches by assets, ordinary earnings and expense/income ratio. Citibank tops the assets ranking with ¥58,888bn, well ahead of Deutsche Bank with ¥49,259bn. The subsequent eight banks in the top 10 were, BNP Paribas, UBS, Rabobank Nederland, ABN AMRO Bank, Barclays Bank, Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank, Société Générale and JPMorgan Chase Bank.
The top earning bank was Citibank with ordinary earnings of ¥25.6bn followed again by Deutsche Bank with ¥7.1bn. Of the larger branches, Dresdner Bank (14th in assets), posted the largest loss at ¥1.7bn.
South Korea’s Woori Bank had the lowest expense/ income ratio of 33.28% followed by a number of other Korean banks. Citibank’s ratio stood at 80.81%.
AITE Group Report: Prepaid Card market in the US
Prepaid debit (open loop) and stored value (closed loop) card transactions in the US will amount to about $257bn by 2009, more than four times the 2004 level of $63bn, according to a 112-page report Prepaid Cards: A Market Overview by Boston-based Aite Group.
In addition, by 2009 prepaid processors are expected to generate $1.8bn in revenues, up from nearly $500m this year.
Prepaid debit cards are emerging in the US as a new segment of the bank card industry. “While they are a testimony of the relevance of the business model of the bank card industry, prepaid debit cards also testify to the growing importance of non-banks in the development of new payment products,” notes research director Gwenn Bezard.
The prepaid market represents a fast growing market opportunity. By 2009, prepaid processing is expected to be as large an industry as the debit card and ATM processing industry was in 2004.
“In the coming years, sheer size and rapid growth will place the prepaid market at the forefront of the competition among card processors,” adds Ms Bezard.
The report predicts that card networks will continue to struggle to accommodate the unique requirements of prepaid debit cards, creating opportunities for third-party processors to innovate on top of the network utility.
