Risk ManagementTalking Shop
December 17, 2020

Talking Shop: Net Investment Hedging When There Is No Underlying Income

Member question: “Do you hedge net investments where there is no underlying operating income or cash flows? “Curious what philosophy or triggers companies have around net investment hedging—and if any companies do NIH where they don’t have an underlying positive cash flow or plans to liquidate? For example, a region where you may have a lot of fixed assets but no material underlying revenues.” Peer answer 1: “At our company, we have to raise debt regularly, so our NIH program is…
Capital MarketsPension and Benefits
December 17, 2020

Dial It Down: Pension Fund Managers Cope With Lower EROAs

Key takeaways from a NeuGroup for Pension and Benefits meeting sponsored by Insight Investment and BNY Mellon.Pension fund managers discussed best practices in selecting and evaluating investment managers, asset allocation and the impact of lower estimated return on assets (EROA) among other topics at a virtual meeting sponsored by Investment Insight and BNY Mellon. Here are takeaways from the gathering compiled by Roger Heine, senior executive advisor at NeuGroup. EROA expectations. Two-thirds of members are facing the reality that low interest…
BankingCapital MarketsTechnology
December 15, 2020

Is the Corporate Bond Market Ready for Digital Transformation?

Former NeuGroup members look to convince today’s treasurers that the current system needs to change. By Joseph Neu In the wake of a record year for corporate debt issuance—around $2 trillion in the US alone, generating estimated fees for banks topping $8 billion—this is a good time to assess if the corporate bond market needs transformation. As part of a new series of virtual interactive sessions on fintech solutions to perennial treasury and finance function challenges, NeuGroup hosted a session…
NeuGroup News
December 15, 2020

NeuGroup Members Look at Fintech for Bond Issuance

The latest in our look at fintech solutions for corporate finance and treasury. With everything going digital at a faster pace due to Covid-19, NeuGroup is connecting members with fintech solutions offering digital approaches to perennial challenges. By Treasurers, for TreasurersLast week’s example was a virtual interactive session looking at bond issuance via digital platforms, focusing on one solution backed by several NeuGroup member alumni. It is neatly differentiated from others in that it is created for corporate issuers and…
FunctionalTreasury Management
December 15, 2020

Test Your Knowledge of Treasury! A Trivia Contest to Attract Talent

One treasurer uses a quiz to educate, promote communication and build interest in treasury among finance teams. Treasury teams often struggle to attract talent when competing with more glamourous finance functions. Part of the problem is a lack of understanding of what treasury does. To build awareness and interest in treasury and enhance communication with other finance teams at his company, one treasurer created a contest to test the knowledge of senior leaders.He described the quiz at a recent meeting of…
BankingFXTalking Shop
December 15, 2020

Talking Shop: How Do You Restrict Trading for Currency and Bank Pairings?

Member question: “Question on restricting trading for certain currency/bank combinations: We have a few currencies that some banks have trouble settling with us (such as RUB). I want to avoid trading with these banks for those currencies. “Ideally, I could set up a rule in FXall to restrict specific bank/currency combinations. Does anyone have suggestions for doing this? Thanks!” Peer answer 1: “I believe that in FXall’s QuickTrade set-up, you can select/designate standard counterparty banks to populate for specific currencies…
NeuGroup News
December 11, 2020

Virtual Interactive Sessions Keep NeuGroup Members Connected Through the Fall

Though the fall meeting cycle is wrapping up, the NeuGroup Process continues. When the Covid-19 Pandemic upended the way businesses across the globe functioned, NeuGroup reacted quickly, utilizing digital meeting technology to keep the meeting cycle going. And even though the fully virtual 2020 H2 meeting cycle is nearly complete, that doesn’t mean members are waiting until the spring to resume sharing and learning with their peers. Through Virtual Interactive Sessions, peer groups are still connecting with one another and…
BankingCapital MarketsESG
December 10, 2020

Corporates Seek Best Practices in Backing Black-Owned Banks, Brokers

Selecting which minority-owned institutions to include on deals requires asking the right questions. Netflix, Apple, PayPal, Microsoft and other companies launched prominent initiatives to support Black-owned banks and brokerage firms this year in the wake of the social justice movement sparked by the death of George Floyd in May.   Scores of other corporates are making or doubling down on commitments to support financial institutions serving minority communities. They’re doing it through bank deposits, investments in community development financial institutions (CDFIs)…
ComplianceRisk ManagementTechnology
December 10, 2020

How to Engineer Complicated Engineering Audits

Recruiting engineers to join audit teams bolsters accuracy as well as credibility.Highly technical engineering audits can be among the most challenging for internal auditors. A member of NeuGroup’s Internal Auditors’ Peer Group (IAPG) queried fellow internal auditors in a recent meeting about what parts of engineering they audit and the makeup of those auditing teams. Expertise in short supply. A peer said engineering takes up more than 30% of his team’s 100-audit plan, and one of the challenges is finding sufficient…
FXRisk ManagementTalking Shop
December 10, 2020

Talking Shop: What Did Your Transition Plan to Hedge Accounting Look Like?

Member question: “What did your transition plan to hedge accounting look like? “We are planning to adopt hedge accounting in the future. In terms of transitioning a book of hedges to designated hedges, we will close all existing undesignated hedges and put on a new book that is designated at inception.“We are curious how others have put on these new hedges. How long did you take to put on hedges? Did you trade all at once, daily, weekly, etc.? Also,…