Category

Banking

BankingLibor SOFR
January 28, 2021

Cutting the Cord: When Banks Plan to Stop Making Libor Loans

A NeuGroup survey shows SOFR is the replacement rate for most banks, and many accounting systems aren’t yet ready.The opportunity to give feedback on a plan announced in December to allow legacy USD Libor contracts to stretch to June 30, 2023—18 months beyond the initial deadline—ended Monday. Almost everyone expects Libor’s administrator to make it official and is planning accordingly. At a recent meeting of the Bank Treasurers’ Peer Group, NeuGroup members reviewed the results of a survey on their…
Justin Jones
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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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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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BankingTalking Shop
January 7, 2021

Talking Shop: Allowing Vendors to Directly Debit Bank Accounts

Member question: “What are your policies with respect to allowing vendors to direct debit your bank accounts for invoices due? “Our policy does not support vendor direct debit of our bank accounts. We do have an exception process for situations where vendor stoppage may have material impact (i.e. utilities for a manufacturing plant) or the vendor requires DD and there are no other alternatives (i.e. postal service).“I think part of our position is a historical perception that it is ‘bad’…
Justin Jones
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BankingCapital Markets
January 5, 2021

Banks Craving Yield Hear Case for Lightly Structured Corporate Notes

An option for members of the Bank Treasurers’ Peer Group coping with excess liquidity amid rock-bottom rates.Many members of the Bank Treasurers’ Peer Group (BTPG) find themselves looking to their investment portfolios as they search for yield in a manner that complies with policy risk parameters—a theme heard at other NeuGroup meetings in the second half as interest rates fell. Banks face the added challenge of tepid loan growth amid a surge in deposits driven by a flight to safe…
Justin Jones
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BankingESG
December 22, 2020

M&A Deals Reveal Growing Power of ESG Ratings, Research

In a recent NeuGroup Virtual Interactive Session, Deutsche Bank weighed in on the changing face of the players doling out ESG ratings which are increasingly important to investors and issuers. As the graphic below makes clear, credit rating agencies and other companies are racing to get in on the action through acquisitions. Trisha Taneja, Deutsche Bank’s head of ESG advisory, identified MSCI and Morningstar as two popular ratings providers, adding that Moody’s and S&P are growing. “The two current main…
Justin Jones
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BankingCapital Markets
December 17, 2020

Wild Rides: Three Treasurers Rise to the 2020 Financing Challenge

Lessons from three companies whose equity, debt and bank credit transactions required flexibility, speed and more.The scramble for liquidity during the pandemic underscored the need for treasury to be prepared—at any point—to snap into action and access capital or credit. And while each company’s circumstances are different, there are some lessons that emerged from this year’s financings that should interest almost any treasury team. At a second-half meeting of NeuGroup’s Life Sciences Treasurers’ Peer Group, three members described funding transactions…
Justin Jones
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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…
Justin Jones
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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…
Justin Jones
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