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Justin Jones

COVID-19Risk Management
November 24, 2020

Rightsizing and Reshaping: What Post-Covid Corporates May Look Like

Internal auditors assess risks as companies shift where and how employees work. Members of NeuGroup’s Internal Auditors’ Peer Group (IAPG) agreed that the pandemic will quite literally reshape the physical look of companies—mostly large technology firms—as well as introduce a host of new risk concerns that are just starting to be considered. Companies’ real estate is bound to shrink as they consider how and when to support the significant number of fully remote and hybrid employees—those coming to office less frequently—that…
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Pension and BenefitsRisk Management
November 24, 2020

Pension Puzzle: Insights for Managers Putting the Pieces Together

Willis Towers Watson weighs in on WACC, the efficient frontier and pension financing alternatives.Pension fund managers evaluating alternative funding strategies should not necessarily use their companies’ weighted average cost of capital (WAAC) as a discount rate; the risks of the pension should be viewed differently than a normal project investment considered by the company. That was among the key takeaways from a recent NeuGroup Virtual Interactive Session sponsored by Willis Towers Watson, “Relative Value: Pension De-risking in a Post-Covid World.”…
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COVID-19ESGInsurance
November 24, 2020

The ESG Halo Effect, Insurance Pain and Financing Lessons Learned

Key takeaways from the 2020 H2 Life Sciences Treasurers’ Peer Group meeting sponsored by Societe Generale. By Joseph NeuA halo effect from the business we are in. In an exchange on ESG-related financing and ESG scores, our life sciences treasurers noted that sustaining life is core to their business; hence, sustainability is part of their companies’ DNA. Why then should they need to issue a green bond or execute some other sort of sustainability-linked financing to earn a so-called ESG halo effect? …
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NeuGroup News
November 20, 2020

Networking in the New Normal with EuroTPG

The European Treasury Peer Group uses digital meeting technology and a “speed dating” format to recreate networking opportunities in a meeting sponsored by Standard Chartered. NeuGroup’s European Treasury Peer Group met virtually this week for their second half meeting, and ended with a type of session new to this group: digital speed networking. After all the members had opportunities to communicate and speak with one another on curated topics that directly affect their current priorities, they had the opportunity to…
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BankingCapital Markets
November 19, 2020

Monetization Magic: How Using a Hybrid Solved an Asset Riddle

MUFG helps one mega-cap use structured preferred shares to monetize a “difficult” asset.In a session at the recent NeuGroup Tech20 annual meeting—the 20th annual no less—a guest speaker from a mega-cap communications company shared how his treasury found a great deal of success using structured preferred shares to monetize previously untapped assets on its balance sheet. All while managing its net debt within a target leverage ratio, with the assistance of meeting sponsor MUFG. Structured preferred shares are a type of…
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ComplianceRisk Management
November 19, 2020

Right on Target: Tracking Companies’ Changing Risks

One member’s “risk radar” facilitates explaining evolving risks to audit committees. Corporate risk is no easy concept to convey, especially when risks are numerous and shifting in intensity over time. Equally challenging is explaining a risk’s evolving urgency to board members, who must concurrently digest reams of information. Responding to a query about how peers justify urgent audit-plan changes to audit committees, a member of NeuGroup’s Internal Auditors’ Peer Group described the “risk radar” he presents quarterly to illustrate dynamically the…
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Capital MarketsTechnology
November 19, 2020

Counterparty Transparency: ‘Looking Through’ Money Market Funds

How a treasury investment manager finds out what assets are owned by the MMFs he owns. For treasury investment managers, visibility into the credit and counterparty risks of their portfolios is essential, especially during times of heightened volatility and uncertainty—like the last nine months. One member of NeuGroup’s Treasury Investment Managers’ Peer Group 2 told peers at a recent meeting sponsored by DWS that part of his assessment of counterparty risk involves “looking through” money market funds (MMFs) to see their…
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Capital AllocationCapital MarketsCash & Working Capital
November 17, 2020

Game Plan: Opportunistic Buybacks on the Open Market vs ASRs

Meeting sponsor SocGen sees corporates growing comfortable with flexible, open market buybacks amid recovery.During the global pandemic, many corporates have slammed the breaks on share repurchase programs to save cash and avoid criticism from politicians as Americans lost jobs and some companies sought government bailouts. At a recent NeuGroup meeting of treasurers at life sciences companies, Societe Generale’s David Getzler, head of equity capital markets for the Americas, forecast an increase in share buybacks in 2021 as the economy recovers and…
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BankingLibor SOFR
November 17, 2020

Replacing Libor: No Criticism for Banks That Say ‘No Thanks’ to SOFR

Regulators say banks can price loans using any appropriate reference rate as they prepare for Libor’s end.You may possibly have missed a development that happened three days after the presidential election: US banking regulators gave banks more confidence they can decide to use Libor-replacement rates other than the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR), which the Federal Reserve has endorsed but that some regional banks view as problematic. “Examiners will not criticize banks solely for using a reference rate, including a…
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Capital MarketsTalking Shop
November 17, 2020

Talking Shop: Applying the End-User Exception From Dodd-Frank’s Swap Clearing Mandate

Context: In 2013, section 723 of The Dodd-Frank Act went into effect, which required all commercial end users of swaps to submit the swap to a derivatives clearing organization. A so-called “end-user exception” allows parties to claim exemption from the clearing mandate and continue executing uncleared swaps with their dealer counterparties if one of them: Is not a financial entity.Is using the swap to hedge or mitigate commercial risk.Provides certain information to the CFTC, including how it generally meets its…
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