Banks reaching out to small businesses in advance of National Small Business Week

May 4, 2011

Over the past couple of weeks, there has been evidence of a continuation of the sometimes tentative recovery in the small business market.

The Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey of Bank Lending Practices found a continued easing of lending standards for small firms, as well as a growth in demand for such loans (however, this growth in demand trails that for large and middle market firms).
A Greenwich survey of small businesses found evidence of significant growth in demand for small business loans (up to now, banks have been claiming that they are willing to lend, but that small business demand has been weak)
According to the latest ADP Small Business Report, private small business employment rose by 84,000 in April 2011. Small business employment fell every month from April 2008 to February 2010, with a total decline during this period of 2.7 million. Since February 2010, private small business employment has grown every month, with a total increase of 788,000.
Some surveys (such as the latest Capital One Small Business Barometer survey) show an improvement in small business optimism. However, it should be acknowledged that this can be tentative, and other surveys (such as the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey and the NFIB’s Index of Small Business Optimism) registered recent declines.

Banks are now starting to introduce initiatives in anticipation on a sustained small business recovery. At the end of April, Chase committed to lending $12 billion in small businesses in 2011. And some leading banks have introduced small business initiatives around the upcoming National Small Business Week:

Citibank launched a nationwide small business campaign, starting with a national outreach day. The bank expects to reach 50,000 small businesses through a range of activities
TD Bank has launched its first small business outreach campaign, with a goal of reaching 25,000 companies during May
Wells Fargo launched its annual Small Business Appreciation Celebration and introduced the online Business Insight Resource Center

Other national and regional banks, as well as community banks, will be looking at these small business campaigns with interest, and will be trying to determine if they constitute a one-off to coincide with National Small Business Week, or the tipping point for an industry-wide re-commitment to this segment. If it is the latter, these other banks will need to quickly develop and introduce small business marketing and sales support programs, so that they are not left behind, as small business recovery takes hold.

Growth in middle market commercial lending

April 27, 2011

Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and American Banker both discuss growth in U.S. banks’ commercial and industrial (C&I) lending. This growth in business lending has come at a time when banks are striving to find ways to catalyze revenue growth.

Banks’ first quarter financials shows particularly strong growth rates in lending to mid-sized commercial clients. The following table shows that for some leading U.S. banks (who break out C&I loan portfolio), middle market lending was stronger than overall C&I lending in the most recent quarter (the exception to this was at U.S. Bank).

Bank	4Q10-1Q11 Change in Average Loan Portfolio
Bank	Middle Market	C&I
Chase	+4.5%	+1.2%
Comerica	+0.8%	+0.1%
Key	+1.0%	-3.4%
U.S. Bank	+3.8%	+4.5%

In addition, banks reported growth in credit line utilization rates in 1Q11, in some cases for the first time in many quarters:

Bank of America reported that its middle market revolver utilization rate rose to 35%
Wells Fargo announced that its wholesale line utilization rate rose by 50 bps in the quarter to 33%
Chase middle market line utilization increased 100 bps in the quarter to 35%

Leading U.S. financial institutions grow marketing spend in 1Q11

April 21, 2011

Financial institutions (FIs) reported continued strong growth in advertising/marketing spending in their quarterly financials. The 10 leading financial institutions in the chart below spent a combined $3.0 billion on marketing in the first quarter of 2011, a growth rate of 19% over the first quarter of 2010 (and this comes on top of a 18% increase between 1Q09 and 1Q10). 8 of these FIs reported double-digit growth rates in 1Q11, with particularly strong growth rates for Discover (+60%), Capital One (+53%) and Citi (+31%).

For most FIs, this increased marketing has not yet translated into significant revenue growth. In the coming quarters, they will be expecting to leverage some of the beneficial impacts of their investment (such as growth in checking accounts, as well as improved customer retention and satisfaction) into increased revenue as economic recovery continues.

One FI that can show the bottom-line impact of its marketing investment is American Express. Following the financial crisis, Amex shifted its marketing focus to drive increases in card spending, which has resulted in strong growth in recent quarters. In the most recent quarter, its U.S. Card unit reported an increase in card spending of 15%, which translated into a 9% rise in noninterest revenue.