Key Bank Offers Mid-Sized Companies Big Time Trade Finance By Partnering With ABN AMRO: Outsourcing back office operation lets one regional bank play like a global giant

摘要

A half do/en years ago, the international trade finance business at KeyBank (USD86 billion assets, headquartered in Cleveland) was at a major crossroads. Through growth and acquisitions, super-regional Key ranked among the dozen biggest banks in the U.S., but even so it was clear to management that they lacked the size to be able to scale the investment in trade operations necessary to remain a player. "Major dollars were needed to upgrade back office processes and even after spending all that money just to link the back office we would have still needed more money for product enhancement and product development," recalls David Verhotz, Senior Vice President and Manager of the International Department at KeyBank. In the fight for internal resources, Verhotz and his colleagues couldn't guarantee enough added business to justify the open-ended investment. But without those investments in capacity, even the existing business (mostly mid-sized corporates) would be very much at risk.