Bullish HSBC aims to grow market share

HSBC Corporate Bank is aiming to grow its market share in the North West despite the “unprecedented” crisis in the sector, a senior executive said today.

Julia Godino,  deputy head of corporate banking at HSBC’s North West hub in Manchester, said the team was looking to capitalise on the bank’s  strong balance sheet and international connections by winning market share in the region.

In the North West Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are seen as the leading player in the corporate market place.

She told TheBusinessDesk: “We are very much open for business and we’re having a lot of conversations with target clients as we’re hoping to grow our book.”

It co-funded the £100m Middle Eastern-based buyout of Manchester-based BWA in September and also funded a £100m+ property deal out of its Spinningfields HQ for site near London Bridge.

Julia, who moved to Manchester in 2006, said: “We’ve now got 14 relationship managers across the North West, which allows us to really understand our clients.

“This is even more important now, so we can know early if something is not quite right – there’s nothing worse than only finding out about an issue at the 11th hour.”

Like many in banking Julia has been taken aback by the scale of the financial crisis: “I’ve never seen anything like this before  – it’s totally unprecedented. No one could have predicted what has happened this year.”

She said there are some big-ticket deals in the pipeline, but they are taking longer to get over the finishing line.

“Deals are still there – but they are taking longer – and this is true for club deals in particular.  The market place is more challenging.”

She said the bank is hoping to capitalise on its international credentials: “I see our international strength and presence as a unique selling point, along with our strong balance sheet.

“We have two global relationship managers in Manchester and their remit is to drive this international growth.”

HSBC has not been as badly hit by the credit crunch as its rivals. It did not take any of the government’s recent multi-billion pound bail-out funding for the sector.

The NW Corporate Banking Centre was launched five years ago by Alan Rigby, who heads the team.