The numbers for the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are staggering. Check these statistics: Number of events, 302; athletes, 10,500; viewership, 4B; people that think mascot Haunhaun looks like Guy Fieri from the Food Network, 2B. As you can imagine, every single resident of China is ecstatic for the Games, with the exception of the 1.3B that are already sick of the marketing hype.
It is comforting to know that even in a communist country, the 2008 Olympics have a record number of corporate sponsors. At notable one is Haier, which is (we kid you not) the official hot water heater of the Olympics. As a sports fan and a banker, you are probably wondering if you can cash in on this marketing frenzy. The solution is, in 2 words - foreign exchange ("FX").
Your bank undoubtedly has customers traveling to the Games or other international destinations that need local currency. At PCBB, we specialize in helping banks facilitate FX transactions, no matter whether they are currency, letters of credit or other foreign exchange. Through our network, we can help you garner increased fee income, while preventing your customer from going to a larger financial institution.
While we recognize some banks don't have customers going to Beijing next month, like any good marketing program, it doesn't really matter. The point here is that you can use the Olympics to market FX to all your customers doing business overseas.
In this current global economy FX transactions have grown to exceed $2T per day. If you are not offering these services (historically only available from large money center banks), you can bet that is exactly where they are obtaining them. Through PCBB, community banks have the ability to offer this growing product to their clients.
To some community bank officers, FX may not be fully understood. Banks can provide a whole suite of FX products to customers, while PCBB takes on the trading and operational risks. In so doing, banks can act as a broker, while easily adding a high profit product to cross-sell.
Let this Olympic season serve as a reminder that this indeed is a global economy. This increases the need for foreign exchange services for community bank clients. If your bank has an interest in learning more about this service, contact us and we will get you out more information about our FX program.
For everyone else, we can't wait until the Opening Ceremonies on August 8th. That is when the Parade of Athletes symbolizes the essence of the Olympics by walking into the stadium - adorned by corporate logos.