The Royal Bank of Scotland is mostly known as “RBS”. It is one of the biggest banks in the retailing sector. It is the subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. It has more than 700 branches. The offices are situated in North America, Asia and Europe. The royal bank of Scotland is the private and state-owned business. It is based in Edinburgh as the British insurance and banking holding company. The group is operating in the broad range of banking services. It offers both business and personal banking, insurance, corporate financing and private banking (RBS, 2019).
This article is about Porter five forces analysis. The five forces model helps in identifying the strategic position of the company among rivals in the industry. The industrial analysis is very important for the company as it helps in making the decision about future growth. There are five forces;
• Bargaining power of suppliers
• Bargaining power of buyers
• Threats of the new entrants
• Threats of the substitute products
• Rivalry among existing players
Here is the detailed Porter five forces analysis of Royal Bank of Scotland;
Bargaining Power of Buyers
The bargaining power of the customer in the banking industry is moderate to low. This is mainly because of the high concentration in the industry of buyers than banking services. For example, mortgage, loan, deposit money, investment etc. Consumers have the wide range of choices from both local and international banks like CitiBank, Standard Chartered, HSBC, etc. The switching cost I low for the consumers. As wherever the find it suitable amount of services in least prices, they will be attracted towards it. Moreover, customers are able to gather more information than before. The easy access of internet provides them with all information about the banks, its services, offers etc. Interest rate is also a sensitive factor that contributes in the bargaining power of buyers (Studymode, 2011).
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The bargaining power of supplier is an important factor. However, in banking industry, the suppliers are mainly related to office supplies or card suppliers, or software providers. Most of the software of RBS are made by the company itself. But other item suppliers do not have strong bargaining power. In addition to this, many of the suppliers do not negotiate much even if they have power, because they want to be associated with the big name of RBS. Regardless of this, RBS maintains good relationship with its suppliers (Lawaspect, 2019).
Threat of New Entrants
Threats of the new entrants are high in banking industry. This is mainly because of the high capitalization requirement as a start-up cost. The new entrants have to develop strong distribution channels and networks. Furthermore, new entrants have to establish strong customer base, which is already with the existing players. The immense marketing and promotional techniques will be needed. It is important for the bank to achieve economies of scale which is a difficult task. New firms have to follow the strict rules and regulations of the industry imposed by the government, which are not easy (UK essay, 2018).
Threat from the Substitute Products
The availability of the substitute products for RBS is medium to low. There are many insurances, loan, mortgages companies offering the same but few services of bank. Moreover, there are other non-financial providers who offer online services like Paypal, Western union etc, grabbing the customers of the banks. There is no such replacement of services available in industry, but rivalry companies offering same services becoming threat for RBS. It is necessary for RBS to compete with these companies. And upgrade itself in all the financial services field to grow and lead the market position (Lawaspect, 2019).
Rivalry of Existing Players
The competition level in the banking industry is very intense. This is mainly because of the competition from both local and international banks like HSBC, Citi Bank, Standard Chartered, etc. RBS is also facing strong competition from other non-financial providers like Paypal, Western Union etc. The company has to increase its customer base in order to grow more and compete with the rivals. The bank needs to work on its strategies in order to retain its position. However, RBS is known as one of the best banks across Wales and Scotland (Studymode, 2011).
References
Law aspect, 2019. Royal bank of Scotland. [Online], Available at: https://lawaspect.com/royal-bank-scotland/, [Accessed on: 29th December, 2019].
RBS, 2019. About us. [Online], Available at: https://www.rbs.com/rbs/about/the_bank_we_are_becoming.html, [Accessed on: 29th December, 2019].
Studymode, 2011. Porter five forces analysis of RBS. [Online], Available at: https://www.studymode.com/essays/Porter-5-Forces-Analysis-557940.html, [Accessed on: 29th December, 2019].
UKEssays. 2018. Overview of the royal bank of Scotland. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/overview-of-the-royal-bank-of-scotland-marketing-essay.php?vref=1, [Accessed on: 29th December, 2019].