During a multi-year study on excellence in wholesale banking — that is, commercial, corporate, and investment banking — more than 4,000 C-level executives and senior managers at Fortune Global 500 and Forbes Global 2000 companies showed a surprisingly strong nationalist bias; when asked, they predominantly nominated banks from their own countries (or regions, such as the EU) as ‘most-admired banks’, i.e., preferred banks to work with.
In the investment banking space, American executives and senior managers primarily nominated Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Citi, or a boutique firm such as Evercore, Moelis & Company, PJT Partners, Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP), or Centerview. The Swiss turn to UBS, while for Germans, Deutsche Bank still reigns supreme. The French frequently thought of BNP Paribas, Société Générale, and Natixis; Italians tend to nominate IMI Corporate & Investment Banking (a division of Intesa Sanpaolo), UniCredit, and Mediobanca; and Japanese C-suite executives and senior managers praised Nomura, MUFG, and Mizuho.
Of the investment banks, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and J.P. Morgan were the most frequently nominated. While the top tier remains American, a more nationalist stance is rising in boardrooms across all industries worldwide. Across Asia, research participants think most highly of financial conglomerates — often with integrated corporate and investment bank (CIB) divisions. Asian decision-makers also prefer diversified non-Asian universal banks like J.P. Morgan, UBS, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays. Many Europeans favor universal banks and the U.S. ‘big five’ (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, and Citi).
From a business development perspective, U.S. boutique banks like Evercore, Centerview, PWP, and PJT Partners have ample opportunities to expand their client base outside the U.S., particularly in Europe and Asia (they’re highly regarded as independent players, the ‘secret elite’). That said, few European and Asian niche players are ever nominated outside their home countries as most-admired banks, confirming the nationalistic bias of C-suite executives and senior managers.
Some banks actively downplay their national heritage to minimize the ‘liability of foreignness’ — a ‘camouflage’ strategy adopted by several Japanese financial conglomerates, such as Mizuho in its acquisition of Greenhill. By contrast, other banks, such as UBS and leading French banks, embrace their national identity rather than downplaying it (the ‘authenticity’ strategy). However, all leading banks recognize the importance of strong local ties in mitigating perceived foreignness. This typically involves recruiting local staff and actively participating in local community initiatives.
In wholesale banking, reputation travels locally before it travels globally. Until trust is earned in the boardroom, the passport remains the first pitchbook.