Hong Kong Banking Study

Financial products and services are one of the biggest factors that affect a consumer when making decisions about which bank can best meet the needs of individual customers.The types of services being provided and the benefits of each are certainly important when choosing a bank, but other important aspects concerning how a consumer will choose a bank that best suits his or her personal needs involves other issues concerning not only the services they are involved with, but the ways to which these services can be accessed.This study will focus on what facts and policies can affect banking consumers other than merely the products and services they are engaged in.Such factors include:

·Banking hours

·Banking accessibility

·General banking fees

·Global markets

This study will limit its focus to six of the most popular banks in Hong Kong including HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered, Bank of China and Dao Heng Bank.

Banking Hours

While most banks in Hong Kong hold similar banking hours, even the slightest half of an hour can play a significant role when deciding on a bank to use.With an ever-growing work force, many consumers count on banks being available for periods of time before or after the workday to complete their banking errands.Below is a listing of the hours held by Hong Kong banks.

HSBC

Monday-Friday 10:00am-6:30pm

Saturday 9:00am-1:00pm & 2:00pm-4:00pm

Citibank

Monday-Friday 9:30am-4:30pm

Saturday 9:30am-12:30pm

Hang Seng Bank

Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm

Saturday 9:00am-1:00pm

Standard Chartered

Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm

Saturday 9:00am-12:30pm

Dao Heng

Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm

Saturday 9:00am-1:00PM

While it is apparent HSBC holds the most hours, it is probably not very appealing to those looking for early morning availibility.On the other hand, banks like Dao Heng and Hang Seng hold earlier hours while also appealing to those looking for time in the late afternoon.Citibank and Standard Chartered close the earliest of the five with opening hours at 9:30 and 9:00 respectively.

Banking Accessibility

Why bother using a bank that is not easily accessible?This is one of the most important considerations consumers take into account when choosing a bank.People need to be able to easily access banks without going to the hassle of traveling across the city to do so.Below is a summery of how many branches each bank possess in the Hong Kong area in which all of the have locations in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and the New Territories.

Bank Number of branches

HSBC    220

Hang Seng    109

Standard Chartered    100

Dao Heng    71

Bank of China    45

Citibank    19

HSBC, the largest bank in Hong Kong, serves three fourths of the adult population accounting for its large number of branches around city.HSBC also has over 900 ATM’s around the city, while other banks like Dao Heng Bank with 80 and Bank of China with 69 hold smaller amounts.For consumers who travel frequently, the accessibility of many ATM’s scattered throughout Hong Kong’s MTR stations can make the Bank of China quite appealing to banking customers city-wide.Hang Seng Bank is also appealing being as it is the only bank operating branch services in MTR stations, including Airport Express stations.The bank operates a total of 48 branches/automated banking centers in MTR stations and there is at least one branch/automated banking center in every station.

As time passes, banks are encouraging customers to use ATM’s and e-banking increasingly more.It’s cheaper for banks to do things online and eliminates other middlemen along with expensive rents on the locations of branches.Depending on the customer this can be beneficial or simply an annoyance.Some look at it as more convenient, being able to do banking at one’s own convenience without having to stand in long lines while others see it as a continuing loss of face-to-face communication that is rapidly transforming our society into a faced paced world of technology.

ATM’s have already made life easier with the accessibility to withdrawal and deposit money at anytime of day.Now banks will soon offer services through ATM’s such as instantaneous insurance, loan applications, mortgage quotes, motion picture advertising and coupon dispensing that could lead to business links with merchants such as McDonald’s or Maxim’s.The affect such implementations could have on customers is endless.Once such offer is put forward, the actual affects it will have on customers will have to be studied carefully to determine whether it is beneficial or not for banks to offer such services, but this example clearly demonstrates both the desire for customers to bank with more ease and banks continuously in pursuit for cheaper banking methods.

General Banking Fees

Banking service charges may not seem like an entirely new concept, but these high rising costs are here to stay.As stated above, banks are encouraging customers to use ATM’s and the Internet to do their banking rather than visiting the teller.This “encouragement” is such one that imposes a fee if consumers do not agree to go along with bank’s wishes.Late fees, transaction charges, and annual fees barely touch the service of ways a bank can get to your wallet.

This craze is becoming a problem for many banking consumers who believe they are being scammed out of their money.One leading bank in Hong Kong has been known to charge as much as 25% of a service charge to customers depositing money into foreign-currency accounts.

HSBC, along with many other large Hong Kong banks, has introduced account fees and counter charges rewarding large depositors with better interest rates.There is a HK$40 monthly fee for savings accounts if the balance falls below HK$5000.The bank also has introduced a HK$20 charge for over-the-counter cash withdrawals.Standard Chartered’s rates are even steeper.It seems as though only the elderly, disabled, and some others areexempt from such fees.

Global Markets

The world is quickly becoming a large financial center with clear emphasis in emerging markets.In many cases, in order for a bank to survive in Hong Kong it must have characteristics that enable it to run globally.It must be able to serve not only locals, but multinational companies, investment and financial institutions, and central banks.

Below is a brief summery of how Hong Kong banks compare in the international arena.

HSBC

HSBC runs business in 79 countries around the world in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa with more than 6,500 offices.

Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered runs business in 57 countries around the world primarily in Asia, the sub-continent, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin-America with approximately 600 offices.

Citibank

Citibank runs business in 46 countries around the world in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America with around 1,400 branches

Bank of China

The Bank of China currently runs 45 branches in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Hang Seng Bank

Hang Seng bank currently hold 150 branches in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Dao Heng

Dao Heng Bank works internationally with the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and the Cayman Islands with approximately 53 branches mostly focused in the Hong Kong region.

For customers looking for specific overseas needs, banks like HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Citibank offer better services while those whose transactions will be limited to the Hong Kong and China area could easily get by with any of the listed banks above.

Conclusion

All of the factors mentioned above play a significant role in the kind of service consumers will receive whether individuals are consciously aware of this or not.Many do not incorporate such factors into the picture when choosing a bank that will best meet customers needs, but taking such information into account can be considerably useful and beneficial in the long-run by ensuring happy and satisfied customers.

*Note:All data included in this report came from either the studied banks websites or from the banks direct customer service lines.