Amid a credit crunch, rising input prices and an increasingly relevant offshore vs. onshore liquidity picture, T30 treasury practitioners met in May 2008 at a Standard Chartered Bank-sponsored meeting in Chicago to discuss ways to meet these challenges.

Executive Summary

1) Find ways to better utilize offshore cash. With liquidity at a premium due to the credit crunch and more excess cash being generated offshore, member firms are taking fresh looks at putting internal capital to work.

► Key takeaway: Aligning treasury and tax planning, including the use of tax-advantaged vehicles that work for treasury (e.g., In-House Banks), to improve offshore capital utilization has become a higher priority as access to onshore credit diminishes.

2)  Make the most of more limited opportunities to access to credit and debt markets. As a result of the crunch, treasurers need to be proactive in taking advantage of all windows of opportunity to access funding.

► Key takeaway: Start with a blank sheet of paper and reassess the trade-offs between bank lines vs. debt issues, short- vs. longer-term debt, international vs. local capital markets, and bank vs. non-bank intermediated sources of funds.

3) Consider shifting risk management priorities as a result of inflation risk, commodity price increases, and liquidity pressures on suppliers. More member firms are reconsidering their exposures from a strategic perspective, resulting both in new treasury opportunities to mitigate financial risks and costs impacting the supply chain and advise on changes to improve the underlying business.

► Key takeaway: Rising input prices may require fundamental business changes, while increasing expectations to manage risks with more available hedge tools. As a result, treasurers are under pressure to add value by both hedging effectively and advising on businesses responses.

4) Don’t exceed your cash investment mandate. As treasury receives a mandate to hold more cash, it must resist yield temptations that will trigger Board fears of headline risk.

► Key takeaway: Be sure to have the technical expertise in treasury to identify risks in your cash portfolio before they result in earnings surprises or other headline risks.