Category

Banking

BankingCash & Working Capital
April 8, 2021

Tapping the Power of In-house Banks to Turn Cash Puddles into Pools

Mega-cap treasurers and PwC discuss multiple benefits of IHBs and some complexities of structuring them. Treasurers not sold on the value of in-house banks (IHBs) often tell Damien McMahon, a partner at PwC, “We have cash pooling already, and therefore we have a kind of in-house bank,” he recently told a group of NeuGroup members from mega-cap companies. In reality, though, many of the treasurers may have what Mr. McMahon called “cash puddles,” not cash pools.PwC and treasurers from two member…
Justin Jones
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BankingTalking 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: insights@neugroup.com. Member question: “We are trying to do some benchmarking: Do your board resolutions allow the treasurer (and others?) to open bank…
Justin Jones
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BankingLibor SOFR
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…
Justin Jones
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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…
Justin Jones
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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…
Justin Jones
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BankingDiversity & Inclusion
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…
Justin Jones
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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…
Justin Jones
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BankingRisk ManagementTechnology
March 25, 2021

A Goldman Risk Management Tool Flying Under the Radar

FX risk managers talk up a Goldman Sachs solution called Capital Markets Atlas to measure value at risk.To no one’s surprise, a recent meeting of NeuGroup FX risk managers included plenty of talk about well-known vendors of exposure identification solutions like FireApps and AtlasFX, FX trading platforms including FxAll and 360T, and a variety of ERPs and TMSs. But not everyone in the large virtual room had heard of a self-service tool from Goldman Sachs that some members are using…
Justin Jones
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BankingFXRisk Management
March 23, 2021

A Risk Manager Leveraging Flexibility to Benefit from Volatility

FX meeting sponsor Standard Chartered: Hedge policy flexibility may decide if volatility is treasury’s friend or foe.Volatility in foreign exchange, commodity and other markets sparked by the pandemic presented risk managers with challenges to their hedging programs. And while some corporates ended up with financial pain, others turned the volatility to their advantage. At a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Foreign Exchange sponsored by Standard Chartered, a representative of the bank used the positive experience of one member to underscore…
Justin Jones
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BankingCash & Working CapitalTalking Shop
March 18, 2021

Talking Shop: Do You Have One Banking Partner for AR and AP?

Member question: “In the US, do you have one banking partner for AR and AP, or do you split the business, with one bank for AR and a separate bank for AP? “For those that split the business, is this a share of wallet decision or an operational decision? Are there any operational pain points associated with having two banking partners?” Peer survey results: The majority of survey respondents use a single bank, with about one-third splitting the business. Peer…
Justin Jones
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