International Banking Strategic Alliances: Reflections on BNP Dresdner

170 Pages·2004·1.38 MB·English

by  Rehan Ul-Haq

International Banking
Strategic Alliances
Reflections on BNP/Dresdner
Jörg Itschert and
Rehan ul-Haq
International Banking Strategic Alliances
Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq
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Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq
International Banking
Strategic Alliances
Reflections on BNP/Dresdner
Jörg Itschert
and
Rehan ul-Haq
Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq
© Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq 2003
Foreword © Karel Van Miert 2003
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First published 2003 by
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Itschert, Jörg.
International banking strategic alliances/Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–333–99259–8
1. Banks and banking, International. 2. International finance.
I. ul-Haq, Rehan II. Title.
HG3881.I87 2003
332.1′5—dc21 2003045687
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12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
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Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq
To patient Emeli, my greatest support
Jörg Itschert
To Aaminah and Lubna Sharmeen
Making my life worthwhile
Rehan ul-Haq
To the team at Palgrave Macmillan
Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq
The medal depicting the banking cooperation of Dresdner Bank and Banque
Nationale de Paris
Source: Dresdner Bank Historical Archive, reproduced with permission.
Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq
Contents
Foreword by Professor Karel Van Miert xiii
Preface xv
List of Abbreviations xvii
Part I Flawed International Banking Alliance:
Case Study on BNP/Dresdner Bank Cooperation
1 Multilateral Banking Cooperation as a Means of
Participating in Multinational Link-ups 3
Specifying the topic 3
Institutionalized cooperation between foreign banks
before 1990 4
Multilateral forms of cooperation in commercial
banking of the 1970s 4
Poor marks for the European banking clubs 6
Fruits of Associated Banks of Europe Corporation disappoint 7
De facto ‘twinning’ of Banque Nationale de Paris and
Dresdner Bank 7
Profiles of the partner banks on the eve of forming the alliance 8
The beginnings of the joint strategy concept 10
2 A New Brand of International Banking Alliance 12
The principles behind the cooperation agreement 12
The importance of presenting the alliance under a joint ‘banner’ 13
The subject matter of the agreement: the full product
range of a universal bank 13
Each partner’s domestic activities off-limits for the cooperation 13
The involvement of product specialists in the executive
of the alliance 14
Opposite numbers at the parent banks 14
Main purpose of the alliance: bringing units in third
countries together 15
Avoiding the overlap of responsibilities within the alliance 15
Status of the staff involved in the alliance 15
Ongoing conflict between dogmatic self-promotion and
strategic shrewdness 16
‘No handle against the hidden enemies of the cooperation’ 18
vii
Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq
viii Contents
Why dispense with an integration-promoting,
joint symbol of identity? 19
3 Shareholders and the EC Commission give the Go-ahead 20
Including the shareholders in the cross-border alliance 21
Symmetry of legal form 22
Antitrust clearance for the alliance 23
The antitrust procedure in Brussels 25
Reform of EU antitrust policy in 2001 and its implications
for such a procedure today 25
4 The Birth of the Shared Myth: The Possible
Nucleus of a Shared Brand 27
What is myth? 27
Myth as a semiological system 27
Power of motivation in myth 27
Forcefulness of myth 28
Myths as the driving force of economic activity 28
General mythical leading ideas and particular myths 28
Media as midwife and mouthpiece of myths 29
Of artificial myths and ‘organic self-acting processes’ 30
Myth as a loyal brand follower and unswerving devotee 30
Existence of a shared myth as a competitive advantage 31
‘Brands’: myths ‘hardened’ in the fire of competition 31
Cross-border banking alliance as a media sensation 32
Advance praise for the ‘Franco–German duo’ 33
Long-term objective to establish a shared ‘brand’ 34
5 Obstacles and Hindrances on the Way
to the Transnational Alliance 36
Seven phases of the progressively self-realizing strategy 36
Unstable contributions to the alliance by executives
‘on loan’ from the partner banks 37
The euphoria fades 38
Fear of crossing the threshold on all sides and at all levels 39
6 Alliance of the Augurs as Jointly Acting Brand Leaders 41
Shared myth as the core of a transnational relationship 42
Augurs of Antiquity, a mixture of shaman and
top management 44
The cultivation and control of myth by augurs 44
The transnational cooperation myth in particular 45
Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq
Contents ix
7 Strategic Alliance: Preliminary Stage or Ultimate Objective? 48
Are prospects of a possible, later merger the true object
of the alliance? 48
Mutual contractual obligation to keep the option of
a merger open 48
Three questions of feasibility as a prerequisite for
a promising start 50
Was the alliance propelled by European integration? 52
Advanced stage of European integration as a precondition
for cross-border, private-sector initiatives 53
Asymmetries between European integration at the political
and at the private business level 54
8 From a Global Spectacle to a Focused
Joint Servicing of Customers 57
Purpose of the alliance: a cult community the partners served
together, or a shared instrument to allow both to
improve their business? 58
Cooperation as an empirical search process 59
Privatized BNP creates an opportunity to reshape
the alliance 59
The organizational revamp of the alliance 60
The alliance makes a strategic about-turn 61
Departure from prioritization of global joint expansion 61
What focusing meant under Alliance II 62
Support to Franco–German customers in cross-border business 63
Obligation of loyalty to Myth I? 64
Historical role models for Franco–German corporate
banking services providers 64
Realizations under Alliance II 65
Singular dimension of BNP’s foreign presence 65
Dresdner’s historically-induced pent-up demand 65
Threshold countries the ideal target for joint venture activities 67
The states of central and eastern Europe: a magnet
in the 1990s 68
Methods of integrating the partnership more directly
into the national branch networks 70
9 The Will to Cooperate: Expression of an
Intercultural Work Ethic 73
What does teamwork mean in the intercultural context? 73
What does cooperation call for? 74
Jörg Itschert and Rehan ul-Haq