Transactional banking just the ticket for KTB

Songpol  Chevapanyaroj, senior executive vice president and managing director of KTB’s global transaction banking group, said the bank provided all ranges of transactional-banking products but share of this market was small because few potential clients were aware of what it offered.
“Therefore, we have to promote our transactional-banking products strongly and change that perception,” he said.
Among the top four banks, KTB has the smallest share of transactional banking, while Kasikornbank has the largest at 25 per cent, followed by Bangkok Bank and Siam Commercial Bank, which both have double-digit shares as well.
Songpol said KTB’s transactional-banking products consisted of working capital, supply-chain support, cash management, custodial services, factoring and e-banking.
To increase market share, the bank will attempt to communicate to potential business clients that it offers more features at competitive prices.
It expects to see its market share increase dramatically next year because it is training its transnational-banking team to work with relationship managers (RMs). The bank will add 150 product specialists to the existing 250.
“We will work together with RMs in offering the package to clients. A corporate RM looks after 50-60 customers, while an RM specialising in small and medium-sized enterprises takes care of 100-200 clients,” he said.
Not all relationship managers can offer transactional-banking products because an RM has to take care of several customers, so KTB has decided it needs a team of specialists to support RMs.
The bank projects fee income from transactional banking to grow by 10-15 per cent this year, against 3 per cent last year, he said.
Thais have become more familiar with technology and transactions via e-banking are increasing, so enterprises that conduct e-commerce should use transactional banking.
About 40 per cent of businesses in Thailand are unbanked because they prefer using cash. However, the growing trend of e-commerce and the approach of the Asean Economic Community are increasing cross-border transactions, so eventually these enterprises will use more transactional banking to help run their businesses smoothly, KTB believes.