Report: Online Banking In The United Kingdom: A full competitive analysis with forecasts to 2006 TOC

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 12

Key issues 12
Industry overview 12
Distribution and competition 12
Strategies for future success 13
Competitor analysis 13
Online banking yearbook 14

Chapter 1 Key Issues - Introduction 16

Summary 16
Introduction 16
Online banking strategies 18
Integrated versus pure-play, or both? 19
What's wrong with standalone? 19
Bringing the customers in 20
Additional support channels 22

Chapter 2 Industry Overview 26

Summary 26
Introduction 26
Market size 27
Market segmentation 28
Market forecasts 29

Chapter 3 Distribution and Competition 32

Summary 32
Introduction 32
Benchmarking competitor distribution channels 33
Online banks 33
Branch 34
Post Office 35
Telephone 35
Internet banking 35
Mobile banking 35
ITV banking 35
Overall rating 36
Retail banks 36
Building societies 37
Leading companies 37
Standalone Internet banks 37
Integrated Internet banks 38
Competitive landscape 38

Chapter 4 Strategies for Future Success 44

Summary 44
Introduction 44
Customer channel preferences 45
The benefits of integration 46
Standalone Internet banks: maintaining the edge 47
Technology investment priorities 48
Bricks and mortar banks 48
Standalone banks 49

Chapter 5 Competitor Analysis 52

Summary 52
Introduction 52
Egg Plc 53
Key facts 53
Business description 54
Strategy 55
Egg Invest 57
Egg Shop 58
Delivery channels 58
How to find the golden Egg? 58
History 59
Key employees 62
Products and services analysis 63
SWOT analysis 65
Overview 65
Strengths 67
Weaknesses 67
Opportunities 68
Threats 69
Smile 70
Key facts 70
Head office: 70
Business description 71
History 73
SWOT analysis 74
Overview 74
Strengths 76
Weaknesses 76
Opportunities 77
Threats 78
Intelligent Finance 79
Key facts 79
Business description 80
Key employees 81
SWOT analysis 81
Overview 81
Strengths 82
Weaknesses 83
Opportunities 84
Threats 85
First Direct 86
Key facts 86
Business description 86
History 87
Key employees 88
SWOT analysis 88
Overview 88
Strengths 89
Weaknesses 90
Opportunities 91
Threats 91
Cahoot 92
Key facts 92
Business description 92
Key employees 94
Products and services analysis 94
SWOT analysis 96
Strengths 96
Weaknesses 97
Opportunities 98
Threats 98
Virgin One 100
Key facts 100
Business description 101
History 102
Key employees 103
SWOT analysis 103
Overview 103
Strengths 104
Weaknesses 105
Opportunities 105
Threats 106
HSBC Holdings Plc 107
Key facts 107
Business description 108
History 110
Key employees 114
Products and services analysis 116
SWOT analysis 117
Overview 117
Strengths 118
Weaknesses 119
Opportunities 120
Threats 122
Lloyds TSB Group Plc 123
Key facts 123
Business description 124
History 125
Key employees 129
Products and services analysis 131
SWOT analysis 132
Overview 132
Strengths 133
Weaknesses 134
Opportunities 136
Threats 136
Barclays Plc 138
Key facts 138
Business description 139
History 141
Key employees 145
Products and services analysis 147
SWOT analysis 148
Overview 148
Strengths 150
Weaknesses 151
Opportunities 152
Threats 153
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc 155
Key facts 155
Business description 156
History 159
Key employees 162
Products and services analysis 164
SWOT analysis 166
Overview 166
Strengths 166
Weaknesses 168
Opportunities 168
Threats 168
Abbey National Plc 170
Key facts 170
Business description 171
History 172
Key employees 175
Products and services analysis 176
SWOT analysis 177
Overview 177
Strengths 179
Weaknesses 179
Opportunities 180
Threats 181
HBOS Plc 183
Key facts 183
Business description 184
History 185
Key employees 189
Products and services analysis 189
SWOT analysis 191
Overview 191
Strengths 192
Weaknesses 192
Opportunities 193
Threats 194

Chapter 6 Online Banking Yearbook 196

Summary 196
Introduction 196
Major events - 2002 199
NatWest: treading on Egg's sales 199
Egg: let's go to work 201
Nordea: leading the European online banking race 202
Egg: beating the competition 203
Online banking IT: only the strongest will survive 204
Egg: checking out 206
Smile: drinking to its success 207
Online banking: confidence at an all-time high 208
UK finance: online is a turn off 209
Intelligent Finance: feeling clever about job growth 210
Vontobel/PwC: Y-O-U know it doesn't work 212
Egg/Zonline bank: hatching a deal 213
Online banking: acquisition versus consolidation 214
Nordea: entering a critical stage 216
Major events - 2001 217
Egg: the Internet bank has cracked it 217
Online banking: people power forces strategy rethink 218
Intelligent Finance: ahead of the online banking pack 220
European online banking: branches still essential 221
Lloyds TSB: going forth where others fear to tread 223
Swedbank: tapping the young market 224
Cahoot: smart, but not smart enough 226
Generali: going forward as others retreat 227
First-e: the end of a bad trip 229
Internet banking: making waves in Europe 230
BankOne: clipping its Wingspan 231
CIBC/Ameritrade: history interferes with future 233
First-e: bleak future for jilted online bank 234
Barclays: a big bank, and a big online bank 236
Bank of America/Homestore: online partnership a good move 237
ABN Amro: standalone portal doesn't make sense 239
Intelligent Finance: maybe not so intelligent 240
Bank One: a difficult but wise decision 241
Major events - 2000 243
Alliance & Leicester: no riches from the mass affluent 243
Egg: breaking out of its shell into the offline world 244
Citigroup: reinventing itself into a financial services portal 245
AIB: no Net gains in online banking 247
Spanish banks: low Internet use won't stand in their way 248
Egg: a pan-European brand? 249
IF only we knew when 251
Egg: cracking under pressure from high street banks 252

Chapter 7 Appendix 256

Research methodology 256
Primary and secondary sources 256
Primary 256
Secondary 256
Customer number forecasts 256
Glossary 257

List of Figures

Figure 1.1: Which channel generates most business for retail banks? 17
Figure 1.2: UK consumers prefer the telephone as an additional support channel for online service
providers, 2001 23
Figure 2.3: United Kingdom online banking customers, 2000?2002 27
Figure 2.4: United Kingdom online banking customers, 2000?2002 29

List of Tables

Table 1.1: Examples of banks employing the three online banking strategies 18
Table 1.2: Benefits of employing each of the three Internet banking strategies 21
Table 1.3: Problems involved in employing each of the three Internet banking strategies, 2001 21
Table 1.4: What is your preferred additional service channel for online service or goods providers,
2001 23
Table 2.5: United Kingdom online banking customers, 2000?2002 27
Table 2.6: United Kingdom online banking market segmentation by age: % of people, 2001 28
Table 2.7: United Kingdom online banking market segmentation by age: % of people, 2001 28
Table 2.8: United Kingdom online banking customers (forecast), 2002?2005 29
Table 3.9: Distribution channels offered by Internet banks 34
Table 3.10: Key to benchmarking table 34
Table 3.11: Retail banks offering Internet banking services 36
Table 4.12: UK consumers' preferred method for dealing with banking products 45
Table 5.13: Key employees: Egg 62
Table 5.14: Key employees: Egg 63
Table 5.15: SWOT Analysis: Egg 66
Table 5.16: SWOT analysis: Smile 75
Table 5.17: Key employees: Intelligent Finance 81
Table 5.18: SWOT analysis: Intelligent Finance 82
Table 5.19: Key employees: First Direct 88
Table 5.20: SWOT analysis: First Direct 89
Table 5.21: Key employees: Cahoot 94
Table 5.22: SWOT analysis: Cahoot 96
Table 5.23: Key employees: Virgin One 103
Table 5.24: SWOT analysis: Virgin One 104
Table 5.25: Key employees: HSBC Holdings 114
Table 5.26: Key employees: HSBC Holdings continued 115
Table 5.27: Key employees: HSBC Holdings continued 116
Table 5.28: SWOT analysis: HSBC Holdings 118
Table 5.29: Key employees: Lloyds TSB Group 129
Table 5.30: Key employees: Lloyds TSB Group 130
Table 5.31: SWOT analysis: Lloyds TSB Group 133
Table 5.32: Key employees: Barclays 145
Table 5.33: Key employees: Barclays, continued 146
Table 5.34: Key employees: Barclays, continued 147
Table 5.35: SWOT analysis: Barclays 149
Table 5.36: SWOT analysis: Barclays 150
Table 5.37: Key employees: RBS 162
Table 5.38: Key employees: RBS 163
Table 5.39: SWOT analysis: RBS 166
Table 5.40: Key employees: Abbey National 175
Table 5.41: Key employees: Abbey National 176
Table 5.42: SWOT Analysis: Abbey National 178
Table 5.43: Key employees: HBOS 189
Table 5.44: SWOT analysis: HBOS 191
Table 6.45: 2002 Major Events Yearbook 197
Table 6.46: 2001 Major Events Yearbook 198
Table 6.47: 2000 Major Events Yearbook 199