Global investment banks beef up transaction business in Asia

These banks account for just 15 per cent of the market for cash management in the region

With dealmaking in Asia sluggish and Chinese investment banks taking market share from global rivals, some foreign banks are ploughing resources into transaction banking, the workaday business of financing trade, managing cash and facilitating payments.

At a time of growing intra-regional trade in Asia, the largest trading region in the world, and expansion of supply-chain networks beyond China, transaction banking promises to offset slowing revenues elsewhere.

While existing transaction banking powerhouses including Citigroup and HSBC are expanding sales and reach, firms who have traditionally focussed more on investment banking, such as JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, are also bulking up.

In its inaugural transaction