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Justin Jones

BankingCapital MarketsTreasury Management
January 21, 2021

Tear Down, Rebuild: A Treasurer Lays a Foundation for Best Practices

How a newly hired treasurer revamped her company’s capital structure, banking group and her team. Soon after arriving at a fast-growing midsized multinational company, a newly-hired treasurer with extensive experience in loan restructurings and amendments launched a loan compliance cleanup. That was the first step on the path to establishing best practices at a company that had never had a treasurer with experience in treasury. The treasurer described what she did and her thinking at a recent meeting of NeuGroup’s Treasurers’…
Justin Jones
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BankingCapital Markets
January 21, 2021

Borrowing Authority and the Board: How Often Do You Renew?

NeuGroup’s survey results on the frequency of borrowing authority renewals, use of carve-outs for M&A and more.Nearly two-thirds of the treasurers responding to a recent NeuGroup survey renew their borrowing authority with the board on an ad hoc or as-needed basis, while about one-third do it every year. That’s shown in the pie chart on the left, below. But at a follow-up meeting to discuss the results, the general consensus seemed to be that an annual review made the most…
Justin Jones
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FXTalking Shop
January 21, 2021

Talking Shop: Net Investment Hedging Programs

Member question: “Anyone have a net investment hedging program? If so, how often are you rolling hedges? “What is your typical tenor? Are you hedging 100% or something less?” Peer answer: “We have done some opportunistic NIH hedging in JPY with FX forwards. We generally use our EUR capacity for debt issuances as well. Hedges have been in the two- to three-year range. “We will go up to 100% of capacity (we do not seek to push to the 125%…
Justin Jones
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NeuGroup News
January 19, 2021

NeuGroup for High Potentials Validates Next Gen Leaders’ ESG Focus

Members share and learn their ESG and D&I experiences, showing a proclivity for the subject.   As social justice and environmental issues dominate headlines across the world with increasing frequency, many businesses have altered their strategies to embrace the movement toward a longer-term and more selfless approach.  NeuGroup members found that one of the factors driving the recent acceleration of these initiatives is the higher priority the Millennial and Gen Z generations place on these issues.NeuGroup for High Potentials (HiPo), comprised of our member companies’ most promising treasury professionals (typically those just below the level that typically participate in the core NeuGroup Peer Groups), recently met to share…
Justin Jones
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TaxTreasury Management
January 19, 2021

Learning New Strokes: A Treasurer Adds Tax to Her Skill Set

One NeuGroup member has “had to learn from doing” to tackle tax—and also tap internal and external experts.When the head of tax at a midsized multinational company left to take another job a couple of years ago, the CFO tapped the treasurer to run tax, too. The treasurer shared some of the challenges she faced and how she addressed them at a recent meeting of the Treasurers’ Group of Thirty and in a follow-up interview.A difficult beginning. Three of four…
Justin Jones
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Cash & Working CapitalCOVID-19
January 19, 2021

Sign of the Times: Retailers Say Coin Shortage Worries Persist

Burned by a dearth of coins during the pandemic, many retailers are cautious despite some signs of stability.“Cash-mageddon” is how one member at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Retail Treasury described the havoc wreaked by the coin shortage that made life hellish for many retailers last year. And despite signs of normalization and increased production by the US Mint (see below), some members remain unconvinced that the coin supply disruption caused by the pandemic is truly over. Cautious about…
Justin Jones
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BankingCapital MarketsCOVID-19
January 14, 2021

Calmer Seas: Revolvers Recover, Return to Pre-Covid Pricing, Tenor

Upfront fees are higher, but treasurers renewing facilities see reason for optimism; U.S. Bank is also positive.Multiyear tenors for revolving credit facilities are now available to investment-grade (IG) corporate borrowers, according to several NeuGroup members who have been talking to their bankers recently. This week, one treasurer said, “Things have normalized a fair amount for solid credits,” citing a large bank. This member, who was in the process of renewing his company’s revolver last year when Covid hit, is now…
Justin Jones
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Capital MarketsESGRisk Management
January 14, 2021

Green Hedges: What You Need to Know About ESG Derivatives

Standard Chartered explains the potential value of “use of proceeds” and performance-linked ESG derivatives.The flood of money pouring into ESG finance—everything from green bonds to sustainability-linked revolving credit facilities—has washed up on the shores of derivatives markets. At a recent NeuGroup meeting of European treasurers, sponsor Standard Chartered dove beneath the surface to reveal what value ESG derivatives may offer. The bank described two types: “Use of proceeds” ESG derivatives that hedge FX or interest rate risks arising from ESG…
Justin Jones
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Capital MarketsTechnology
January 14, 2021

Fertile Ground: Capital Markets Look Good for Growing Tech Companies

Bank of the West/BNP Paribas sees inviting conditions for young companies raising capital in 2021.Capital markets bounced back strongly in the second half of 2020, with soaring levels of convertible bond deals and a healthy climate for IPOs and high-yield bonds. Favorable conditions will continue to benefit emerging technology companies this year, according to Bank of the West/BNP Paribas, sponsor of the fall meeting of the Tech20 High-Growth Treasurers’ Peer Group. Highlights:Low high-yields. Volatility due to political tensions and a…
Justin Jones
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COVID-19TechnologyTreasury Management
January 12, 2021

Bridging a Skills Gap Facing Finance Teams as Businesses Transform

Data from The Hackett Group show more companies plan to launch talent development initiatives this year. The good news is that more finance teams are placing a higher priority on aligning the skills and talents of their members with changing business needs amid digital transformation. The somewhat bad news is that many of those teams currently lack the abilities necessary to make that alignment a reality. Those are among the takeaways from survey data collected and analyzed by The Hackett Group…
Justin Jones
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