All Posts By

Antony Michels

Cash & Working CapitalCOVID-19
July 28, 2020

Helping Hands: How Corporates Are Aiding Customers and Suppliers

Supply chain finance and how the “we’re in this together” approach to the pandemic is playing out.The COVID-19 crisis has put the meaning of business community—emphasis on community—into sharp relief as some businesses have survived well or even thrived (tech, consumer staples), while others have suffered devastating losses (retail, travel and hospitality). At few points in recent memory has the mutual reliance on comrades in commerce been more important; and as in families, it’s often the stronger of the business…
Antony Michels
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COVID-19FXRisk Management
July 28, 2020

What Dollar Weakness and ‘Japanification’ Mean for FX Hedging Strategies

Corporate financial risk managers should be reassessing long-held assumptions as they look to redo their hedging.Add a weakening US dollar to the growing list of reasons risk managers at multinational corporations need to take a long, hard look at their hedging programs and strategies. That takeaway emerged at a NeuGroup Virtual Interactive Session last week featuring Societe Generale global strategist Albert Edwards, known for his provocative mid-1990s “Ice Age” thesis of bonds outperforming stocks.Christophe Downey, a director in the bank’s…
Antony Michels
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BankingCash & Working CapitalTechnology
July 23, 2020

Scoring With Single Sign-On and Bank Portal Rationalization

One member’s winning use of single sign-on to access bank portals through Wallstreet Suite impresses peers. A NeuGroup member’s success at implementing single sign-on (SSO) to provide access to bank portals through the company’s treasury management system (TMS) made a splash at the spring virtual meeting of the Global Cash and Banking Group. Of equal interest was the member’s goal of taking away “as much bank portal access as possible” from employees, some of whom only need to see bank statements and…
Antony Michels
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COVID-19Insurance
July 23, 2020

Pandemic Stokes Fire of Rising D&O Insurance Premiums

Corporates see no relief as insurers take a hard line on renewals amid rising fears of COVID litigation. Premiums for directors and officers (D&O) insurance are surging, a pain point discussed at several NeuGroup meetings this spring, including the Tech20 Treasurers’ Peer Group and the Life Sciences Treasurers’ Peer Group. Premiums were already on the rise at the beginning of the year and now, amid the pandemic, they continue to rise. That’s in part because COVID-19-related D&O claims are already being…
Antony Michels
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Capital MarketsESGTax
July 23, 2020

A Green Light for Tax Equity Investments in Renewable Energy

There’s still time for corporates to benefit from federal tax credits and reap attractive returns.The final session of NeuGroup’s final H1 meeting featured a presentation on green and sustainability-linked finance by U.S. Bank, sponsor of the NeuGroup for Retail Treasury. Below are some key takeaways from the session as distilled by Joseph Neu, founder of NeuGroup and leader of the retail group. Update your view on the ROI of tax equity structures. Commenting on the cash flows from a transaction presented…
Antony Michels
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BankingCash & Working CapitalTechnology
July 16, 2020

COVID Boosts Contactless Payments, Revealing Retailer Frustrations

Low adoption rates in the US and issues such as routing rights and interchange fees may present challenges for some retailers as contactless payment grows.It’s no big surprise that the pandemic has pushed more US shoppers to use contactless credit and debit cards as well as mobile wallets. Tapping or waving a card or phone is a cleaner, safer way to pay than swiping or inserting a card. But what stood out at a recent NeuGroup for Retail Treasury meeting was the…
Antony Michels
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COVID-19TechnologyTreasury Management
July 16, 2020

Pandemic Pushes Companies to Digitize Processes, Prioritize People

Treasurers at tech firms push to abandon legacy processes while focusing on keeping teams connected. Many tech companies during the pandemic have been able to announce that they will not lay anyone off during the crisis—and have been able to keep their promise. Unfortunately, that’s not universally true—some businesses have been particularly hard hit and have had to furlough or cut staff, and consequently do more with less. This prompted a hard look at projects and their prioritization for many members of…
Antony Michels
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BankingCash & Working CapitalTechnology
July 14, 2020

Under the Hood of the Global Payments System: Complexity

How TIS helped The Adecco Group harmonize payment, reporting and bank account management processes.So, you need to make payments? Sounds simple, but once you look under the hood of the global payments apparatus—which has developed differently in different places for different currencies—you will discover separate layers of complexity. That’s according to Joerg Wiemer, co-founder and CEO of Treasury Intelligence Solutions, or TIS. Put simply, there are three different sources of complexity. The connection and integration of the ERP and the bank…
Antony Michels
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Cash & Working CapitalRegional
July 14, 2020

Obstacle Course: Cash Forecasting Challenges in Latin America 

Treasurers in Latin America are coping with the pandemic, M&A activity and working capital needs. Many of the cash management challenges currently facing treasurers in Latin America are being complicated by a variety of factors, including the omnipresent COVID-19 crisis. But also in the mix is recent M&A activity in the region (think integration and its opposite, divestiture), along with difficult financing conditions affecting working capital management. COVID chaos. Latin America is no exception in regions contending with the difficulties brought on…
Antony Michels
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Capital MarketsRisk Management
July 9, 2020

Why Swapping Fixed-Rate Debt to Floating Is Still Worth Considering

Wells Fargo shared insights on liability management at the pilot meeting of NeuGroup for Capital Markets.At a spring meeting of NeuGroup for Capital Markets, sponsored by Wells Fargo, several members said they had used interest-rate swaps to shift more of their debt to floating rates, a move that paid off as rates fell in the second quarter amid the pandemic. A few participants had regrets about having swapped from floating to fixed rates.One member said his team is “spending a lot…
Antony Michels
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