Behind the traditional FX products, however, the overriding impression from the surveyed banks was the need to deliver a comprehensive and seamless set of services that enabled them to differentiate their offerings in what is often a vanilla product set.
For example, many responses included technology-related services, such as web-access and STP. “What is most important to our increasingly sophisticated client base is quality of service. Most of our competitors deliver the same suite of products but it is service that counts. Clients are looking for STP and efficient delivery and payments – factors that contribute to a seamless transaction,” says RBC’s Mr Henderson.
And, although more complex products are on the agenda, differentiation from competitors remains an important factor. Mr Foch at BNP Paribas says: “Structured products on emerging markets have recently been very popular in a low interest rate environment. The wide range of services offered on our FX portal from research to live pricing has been highly utilised. Our capacity to price a wide range of structured products in all markets – including precious metals – providing our customers with adapted solutions, is increasingly viewed as a differentiation factor.”
