ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with a number of points derived from the information discussed during the evaluation of competitive strength. It examines some of the competitive advantages of US and foreign banks and presents a number of guarded conclusions about the seriousness of the foreign challenge to United States (US) commercial banks. Most evidence points to the fact that US commercial banks are being challenged at home and abroad as never before. In the US, foreign banks accounted for 16 percent of all commercial and industrial loans in 1987, with the Japanese accounting for nearly 9 percent of these loans. The chapter reviews a number of indicators of competitive strength in order to ascertain what the advantages of each group of banks are. It also examines the new setting for banking, pointing to the rapid expansion of Japanese banks in international markets and considering the impact of new capital adequacy standards and of dramatic changes in the structure of markets.
