Regional banks including U.S. Bancorp and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. may gain business as corporations pull back from bigger lenders that are focusing on rebuilding their balance sheets, Greenwich Associates said.
U.S. Bancorp and PNC are "at the top of the very short list of banks that have burnished their reputations among corporate clients in the United States as a result of their handling of the financial crisis," the Stamford, Conn., firm said, citing the results of a survey of 638 companies worldwide.
U.S. financial services companies have received more than $300 billion in government rescue funds to help them weather the global credit contraction, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Greenwich Associates said the ones that received the biggest bailouts will likely have the "most meaningful reduction in business."
Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. top the list of recipients, at about $45 billion each.
"Companies are wary of overdependence on these banks, and the banks themselves are rebuilding balance sheets and trying to avoid loan losses," Greenwich Associates consultant John Colon said in a press release Tuesday. "These conditions are hardly conducive to the rapid increase in lending hoped for by regulators and politicians."
PNC, of Pittsburgh, has received $7.6 billion in government aid. U.S. Bancorp, of Minneapolis, took $6.6 billion.
Others whose business is likely to pick up include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Deutsche Bank AG, Scotia Capital, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, and HSBC Holdings PLC, Greenwich Associates said.
"These banks have a unique opportunity to gain market share and assume a larger role in corporate credit markets," Mr. Colon said. "Several banks that are in position to significantly increase lending are local and regional banks that have managed their balance sheets conservatively."
In Europe, Nordea Bank AB and Banco Santander SA have maintained the best reputations during the financial crisis, the report said. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and Svenska Handelsbanken AB are also expected to gain business. BNP Paribas SA and HSBC are the expected beneficiaries among the larger global banks, Greenwich Associates said.
In Asia, banks whose reputation has improved over the past six months include State Bank of India and India's HDFC Bank Ltd., according to the report. Among the region's biggest corporate banks, Standard Chartered PLC was the only one whose reputation improved.
