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Justin Jones

BankingCash InvestmentsTalking Shop
April 13, 2023

Talking Shop: Investment Policies and Counterparty Risk on Cash

Editor’s note: NeuGroup’s online communities provide members a forum to pose questions and give answers. Talking Shop shares valuable insights from these exchanges, anonymously. Send us your responses: [email protected]. Context: The failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Credit Suisse dramatically drove home the critical need of corporations to keep close tabs on the credit worthiness of their banking partners. In response to the crisis of confidence, some companies moved money out of smaller, regional institutions into large, global systemically important…
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Capital MarketsRisk Management
April 6, 2023

Volatile Rates Spark Corporate Interest in Pre-Issuance Hedging

Multiple members have executed pre-issuance hedges in recent weeks, with many more strongly considering them. Extreme volatility in interest rates is fueling strong interest in pre-issuance hedging among NeuGroup members who want to mitigate risk—especially those who plan to issue fixed-rate debt in 2023. At the first-half meeting of NeuGroup for Capital Markets sponsored by Chatham Financial and Loop Capital Markets, members and representatives from Chatham agreed that this is an opportune time for companies to consider pre-issuance hedging, particularly using forward-starting swaps.…
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D&IInvestment Management
April 6, 2023

Driving Diversity: A Company’s DEI Scorecard for Asset Managers

One corporate uses data on firms’ racial and gender representation relative to the US Census and their peers. A dearth of minority-owned firms that manage fixed-income assets—and a desire to hold all its asset managers accountable on diversity initiatives and metrics—led the treasury team at one NeuGroup member company with a large cash balance to develop a scorecard for diversity, equity and inclusion. The company’s treasurer shared it with peers at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Mega-Cap Treasurers. The treasury team’s asset…
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BankingCrypto
April 6, 2023

Navigating Crypto’s Liquidity Crisis: Diversification is Key

A tumultuous March has shaken confidence in crypto markets’ liquidity; major players like BNY Mellon are rebuilding trust.As the Fed addresses the ongoing crisis of confidence in the banking sector, the mostly unregulated cryptocurrency market is still reeling from the spillover effects of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank: both were active supporters of crypto market transactions. The closure of Signature and Silvergate Bank meant the elimination of Signet and Silvergate Exchange Network—two 24/7 digital payment networks used by most in…
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Risk ManagementTechnology
March 30, 2023

DIY with RPA: A Tool Removes the Pain of CSA Collateral Exchange

UPS and Coca-Cola describe automation solutions they made using UiPath to cut time exchanging cash, reconciling. Artificial intelligence and machine learning may ultimately be major forces in the digital transformation of finance orgs. Right now, though, more NeuGroup members are bringing the future forward and scoring wins with robotic process automation (RPA) solutions that can relieve the pain and drudgery of manual processes that take way too much time. To wit: two members of NeuGroup for Mega-Cap Assistant Treasurers—UPS and Coca-Cola—recently explained how they used RPA…
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FXTechnology
March 30, 2023

Fed Up With Fees but Finding Few Options to Bloomberg Terminal

Members express frustration with Bloomberg’s data licensing fees and some explore alternatives. The cost of paying Bloomberg’s data fees on top of what the company charges for a Terminal subscription sparked complaints and conversation at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Foreign Exchange 2. The prices present a dilemma for treasury teams that don’t use the high-end tool on a daily basis but haven’t found alternatives they really like. One member said her treasury team only logs on to Bloomberg Anywhere three times…
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D&ISenior ExecutiveThe NeuGroup Insights Interview
March 30, 2023

She Told the CFO She Wanted To Be Treasurer One Day. Now She Is.

Advice on advocating for yourself from Sandra Ramos-Alves, treasurer of Bristol Myers Squibb.Sandra Ramos-Alves was an assistant treasurer at Celgene when Bristol Myers Squibb bought it in 2019. By June of 2021, she was acting treasurer of BMS. And in October of that year she was named senior vice president and treasurer of the pharmaceutical giant that had acquired the company where she had worked for more than 14 years. In a Strategic Finance Lab podcast episode you can hear by…
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Risk Management
March 23, 2023

Hedging Commodity Risk: How Polaris Put the Pieces Together

Treasury, backed by the C-Suite and Chatham Financial, worked with procurement to better manage commodity risk exposure. Starting or reviving a commodities hedging program requires risk managers in treasury to collaborate with procurement teams and secure the backing of the C-Suite to overcome challenges in securing changes in contracts that facilitate the use of hedge accounting. In addition, some corporates will benefit from having a knowledgeable advisor help navigate the complexities of hedging commodities. Those are few of the takeaways…
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Diversity & Inclusion
March 23, 2023

Seeking Out Mentors Who Balance Advocacy With Frank Feedback

The best advocates are also willing to give honest appraisals of where there is room for improvement. Mentorship and sponsorship are recurring themes at sessions of Women in NeuGroup where women in finance discuss the benefits of having supporters who help sharpen their skills, guide their careers and stand up for them. In a video you can watch by hitting the play button below, Kristen Michaud, a principal in PwC’s Finance Transformation group, talks about the support of colleagues who have stepped in and…
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Treasury Management
March 23, 2023

Clearing a Path to Effective Change Management

Finance teams in the throes of change need leadership, resources and collaboration with HR to overcome obstacles. Recession fears are intensifying the pressure on finance and other G&A functions to cut costs. The result is often a reduction in headcount. To meet the challenge of doing more with less, treasury and finance organizations are looking for new ways to work more efficiently. At the spring meeting of NeuGroup for Mega-Cap Treasurers, one member reported that his group has already been asked…
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