Background
The issues of international expansion are familiar to any company that plans on developing additional branches in various regions of the world. The Acme Company is not an exception, while having the idea to develop its businesses in the market of South America and Asia, the company needs professional banking assistance. Looking for the best option among the number of banks offering international services, the Acme Company has to focus on the banks that combine this type of banking with multinational cash management services. Among the variety of such banks, the ones based in the United States and the United Kingdom seem to have the best reputation in the banking world. Accordingly, the choice for the Acme Company is focused on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citibank, N.A., HSBC, and the CLS.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
The best option for the Acme Company is the Bank of America Merrill Lynch that allows the widest range of products and services, especially for its international customers or clients interested in carrying out business transactions abroad (Bank of America, 2010). The advantages of this bank include its wide scope of activity and a seemingly unlimited list of services and products offered. In particular, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch offers:
- International transactions in more than 150 world currencies;
- Services by the 18 centers of the bank worldwide;
- Operating units in Asia, Africa, South, and North America, and Europe;
- The options of Treasury Management and Electronic Trading Services (ETS).
The above services presented by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch will allow the Acme Company to centralize its cash management, always have local lending sources for operating cash, and be able to carry out transactions in all possible currencies of the world (Bank of America, 2010).
Comparative Analysis
The advantages of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch become even more obvious for the Acme Company if contrasted with the services and products that Citibank, HSBC, and CLS offer regarding the multinational cash management. Thus, HSBC offers operations in only 15 world’s currencies. Although it operates in all continents and has commission-free services, its emphasis on offshore banking makes HSBC not the best option for Acme (HSBC, 2010).
The major disadvantage of the Citibank is that it offers multinational exchange services only for the users of the investment accounts (Citi, 2010). Thus, although the bank offers operations in all major world currencies, the impossibility of international services for the users of accounts other than investment ones is the major drawback of the Citibank, N.A (Citi, 2010).
Finally, CLS also offers fewer services and poses fewer advantages for international transactions. First of all, CLS specializes in multinational exchange services only and provides no other banking options. Secondly, this bank works with only 17 major currencies, which limits the operational capacity for Acme if the company chooses CLS (CLS, 2010).
Outcomes
Thus, the choice of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch is obviously the best option for the Acme Company if it still plans to operate in South America and Asia. The use of such a global bank will allow Acme to centralize its cash management, at least for international transactions. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch can also present Acme with short-term investment vehicles for excess cash balances. Finally, using the services of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Acme will become able to pay its bills in all possible currencies of the countries it will operate in.
References
Bank of America. (2010). Official Corporate Web Site.
Citi. (2010). Official Corporate Web Site.
HSBC. (2010). Official Corporate Web Site.