FunctionalNeugroupRisk ManagementTreasury Management
April 8, 2021

Making the Devil’s Advocate an Angel on Your Shoulder

NeuGroup risk managers make space for contrarians to question decisions and combat overconfidence.Rather than shunning contrarians for challenging conventional thinking, corporates need to make sure their decision-making processes always include a constructive devil’s advocate—someone who forces teams to consider all the ramifications of whatever action—or inaction—a company is contemplating. This was among the key pieces of advice given by Michael Zuraw, head of enterprise risk management at ON Semiconductor, during a presentation on decision-making at a recent ERM-focused NeuGroup meeting.…
BankingNeugroupTalking ShopTreasury Management
April 8, 2021

Talking Shop: Who Is Allowed to Open Bank Accounts at Your Company?

Editor’s note: The NeuGroup Process brings members together to solve problems and answer each other’s questions in a variety of forums, including online communities for specific groups—one of many benefits of membership. Talking Shop shares valuable insights from these members-only exchanges (anonymously) with all members and NeuGroup Insights readers. We welcome your responses—and any questions you want answered: [email protected]. Member question: “We are trying to do some benchmarking: Do your board resolutions allow the treasurer (and others?) to open bank…
BankingLibor SOFRNeugroup
April 6, 2021

Pricing Loans Using SOFR: Wait for Banks or Take the Initiative?

Members discuss the Libor-SOFR transition, including contracts and other non-treasury Libor exposures. Regulators want corporates and their banks to price new loans and other financial exposures using a USD Libor-replacement rate such as SOFR by the year-end deadline—just nine months away. But who should take the lead in this transition—the banks or the corporates? That question and other issues that companies confront relating to the move away from Libor arose at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Capital Markets sponsored…
NeuGroup News
April 1, 2021

NeuGroup Spotlight: Taking Flight with WiNG, Women in NeuGroup

With Women’s History Month just drawn to a close, NeuGroup spotlights one of its most important, most unique groups.  In late 2018, after years of servicing a broad (but majority male) membership of corporate finance and treasury professionals, NeuGroup created an initiative for the growing—now roughly 30% of our membership—but not specifically served minority of the NeuGroup community: women.  Under the guidance of peer group leaders Anne Friberg and Julie Zawacki-Lucci, WiNG was created to service:  NeuGroup alumnae Current women members Women colleagues of current members Women member prospects and guests  Looking back. The group started out as physical events timed to coincide with peer group meetings of…
FXRisk Management
April 1, 2021

Cut the Static: An FX Risk Manager Transitions to Dynamic Hedging

Standard Chartered guides a client to hedging that requires more analytics but aligns more with risk management goals.The increased frequency of so-called black swan (or gray rhino) events roiling currency markets recently has more corporates establishing or revamping FX hedging programs designed to minimize earnings volatility. They face a host of decisions involving which exposures to hedge, timing, instruments and overall approach—static, dynamic or somewhere in the middle. At a recent meeting of FX risk managers, sponsor Standard Chartered, along…
BankingRegional
April 1, 2021

Fight and Flight: Bank Fee on SEPA Payments From UK Sparks Pushback

Corporates respond by moving accounts to other countries, pushing banks to drop the fee and lobbying regulators.The number of banks charging corporates a fee for payments going from the UK to countries in the single euro payments area (SEPA) is growing, and some NeuGroup members are taking action to minimize the impact. Echoing what treasurers in Europe reported at a recent meeting, the head of cash product at a UK-based bank said that “a lot more banks in Europe are…
BankingTalking ShopTechnology
April 1, 2021

Talking Shop: Payment Platforms; Supply Chain Finance; Bank Capital

Member question 1 (payment platforms): “We are having discovery calls with FIS, TIS and Fides to understand their value propositions. “Our main pain points are having all sorts of e-banking portals, and arise when we onboard new entities (recently acquired) and penetrate new countries.“Anybody having any experiences with the vendors listed? And suggestions how to best select (did you RFP this business?).” Peer answer 1: “We have used TIS for some years now and are quite happy. They have a…
BankingD&I
March 30, 2021

Beyond Deposits: An FDIC Fund Aims to Boost Equity Capital at MDIs, CDFIs

Mission-Driven Bank Fund will offer corporates a way to infuse equity capital in banks serving minority communities. Corporations looking to make impactful investments in minority communities, but not through bank deposits, may want to consider a new partner: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—the federal agency that insures deposits. Representatives from the FDIC and a large asset manager that is acting in an advisory role described what’s being called the Mission-Driven Bank Fund (MDBF) at a recent meeting of NeuGroup’s…
NeuGroup News
March 26, 2021

A Year Into WFH, a Look Back at Neugroup’s Virtual Transition

NeuGroup staff pulled off a difficult feat last spring to continue connecting finance professionals in a crucial period. When the Covid-19 pandemic first swept across the globe late last winter, everyone felt the impact. As a company based almost entirely on in-person interaction at that point, NeuGroup may have been among the hardest hit. “None of us had ever used Zoom before, we didn’t even have it downloaded,” said Clelia Milan, NeuGroup’s senior event manager, who helped assist the overall…
BankingTechnology
March 25, 2021

A Push in the Right Direction to Simplify Bank Fee Analysis

As bank fee statements slowly standardize, corporates and banks can work together to make the analysis process simpler.Analyzing bank fees to uncover outliers remains a thorn in the side of treasury teams—in no small part because the banks code their fees and transmit the files to corporates in many different ways. And while standardization is improving, companies should keep the pressure on banks to bring more clarity to the opaque world of bank fees. That was among the takeaways at…