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Antony Michels

BankingTechnology
May 19, 2020

Pandemic Raises the Stakes for Banks to Double Down on Digital

Digital banking is speeding up, and banks not getting ahead of the trend will be left behind. Now is the time for all good bankers to embrace digital banking—or risk being left behind as the pandemic accelerates a trend that was gaining momentum well before the arrival of COVID-19. Engaging with digital now is also smart because the barrier to entry is relatively small and the returns can be significant. Those were among the insights from a presentation at a…
Antony Michels
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TechnologyTreasury Management
May 19, 2020

Lessons Learned From a Major Treasury Integration and Enhancement

Consultants and lots of testing may pay off for corporates picking a single TMS following an acquistion.  The merger of two large technology companies resulted in a highly ambitious integration and upgrade of numerous treasury functions and systems, and provided lessons for one NeuGroup member about setting realistic goals and the value of rigorous testing. TMS timing. The member, who worked through many long days during the process, walked peers through the decision-making and implementation steps. The acquired company went live on…
Antony Michels
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Accounting & DisclosureCapital Markets
May 14, 2020

Treasury’s CECL Conundrum: How to Estimate (and Define) a Credit Loss

Treasury investment managers trying to get a better handle on FASB’s new methodology for estimating credit losses got some help this month at two NeuGroup virtual meetings. No surprise, the issue of how exactly to estimate those losses generated plenty of interest.  One of the meetings featured a presentation from EY that included the slide below. It lays out three criteria used to adjust historical loss information to develop a loss estimate. EY’s presenter said that coming up with a “reasonable and…
Antony Michels
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TechnologyTreasury Management
May 14, 2020

Treasurers Are Making the Most of Zoom and Microsoft Teams

The buzz: Zoom’s security improves, Teams may help IT governance, and more access to Bloomberg. Virtual meetings have been a godsend to corporate treasury executives sheltering in place, despite occasional glitches. In a recent Zoom meeting, NeuGroup members exchanged valuable tips about making their virtual interactions more efficient and effective. Kudos for Teams. A few participants using Microsoft Teams while working from home heaped praise on the solution. Responding to requests to elaborate, one member called it “absolutely superb for team working,”…
Antony Michels
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Capital MarketsESGInvestment Management
May 14, 2020

ESG: A Leading Indicator of Quality for Federated Hermes

The asset manager believes an active ownership approach to responsible investing is how to navigate this market.“ESG Investing Shines in Market Turmoil, With Help From Big Tech,” shouted a headline in the Wall Street Journal this week. The story reports that investors put a record $12 billion into ESG funds in the first four months of 2020, according to Morningstar Direct, more than double the same period last year. And more than 70% of ESG funds across all asset classes…
Antony Michels
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BankingTechnology
May 12, 2020

Pandemic Pushes Some Companies Away From Checks, Toward Real-Time Payments

U.S. Bank sees more clients opting for RTP in a bid to gain control and improve forecasting.The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be persuading more companies to consider abandoning paper checks and start using electronic payment rails to pay bills — even though many corporate treasurers do not view speed as a major incentive to switch. That insight emerged during a presentation by U.S. Bank at a recent NeuGroup meeting it sponsored.  Old, suboptimal habits in the US. Here’s some context for where…
Antony Michels
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ComplianceRisk Management
May 12, 2020

ERM’s Profile Rises as Boards Focus on Risk Oversight Role

Corporate boards are taking their oversight mandate more seriously; that’s why they need ERM. Today’s corporate boards need to fully understand the risks a company faces as well as their relevance to its strategy and risk appetite. That’s been the case since 2009 when the SEC started requiring disclosure of a board’s role in risk oversight, including the qualifications of its members and a description of how the board administers its oversight function. The risks revealed by COVID-19 make this…
Antony Michels
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BankingTechnology
May 12, 2020

The Challenges for Corporates of Nonbank Payments

Treasurers in Asia discuss why regulation, technology and business models complicate nonbank payments in the B2C space. The brave new world of nonbank payments presents both challenges and opportunities for finance teams at multinationals that have to collect cash from open platforms, a topic that garnered attention at a recent meeting of NeuGroup treasurers in Asia. Key issues. In the business-to-consumer (B2C) arena, the widespread use of tech intermediaries such as PayPal, WeChat and Alipay poses a problem for corporates because these…
Antony Michels
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BankingCash & Working CapitalCOVID-19
May 5, 2020

Seeking Incremental Credit? Refinancing Loans? Expect Hurdles

Insights from U.S. Bank on current market dynamics as corporates shore up their access to credit. Defensive drawdowns of revolving credit lines have subsided and banks are selectively entertaining requests for new, incremental loans as well as refinancings of existing credit lines. But borrowers can expect some hoops, hurdles and different market dynamics. That was among the takeaways from a presentation by U.S. Bank, sponsor of a recent virtual NeuGroup meeting for treasurers of large-cap companies. Here are highlights: Members…
Antony Michels
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COVID-19Risk Management
May 5, 2020

Aligning on the Meaning of Risk Helps Companies Focus on It

The word risk means different things to different people; how can you agree on the definition across an organization? “What exactly does risk mean to you?” one member asked during a recent virtual meeting of NeuGroup’s Corporate Enterprise Risk Management Group. The question was a bit rhetorical—the member answered it himself by saying risk means different things to different people. There is good risk, bad risk, strategic risk, operational risk and catastrophic risk. This was true, said one member of…
Antony Michels
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