Capital Markets
November 17, 2021

Cloning and Cleaving: The Successful Execution of a Complex Spin-off 

Capital markets insights from a NeuGroup member’s journey helping spinning off businesses intertwined within the parent.Not all spin-offs are created equal—a lesson brought home powerfully to one NeuGroup member who helped their company successfully navigate a large, complex, nearly two-year spin-off of three product groups that did not formerly exist as stand-alone businesses and were not managed as a group by the parent company. “These products were fully intertwined across every aspect of the business,” they said. So were the systems…
Capital MarketsESG
November 17, 2021

Weighing the Impact of Inflation and ESG on Tech Credit Ratings

Credit rating agencies sit down to weigh in on hot topics with Tech20 treasurers at the annual breakfast panel.Each year, members of NeuGroup for Tech Treasurers sit down with tech sector analysts from S&P, Fitch and Moody’s to discuss their pressing questions for the credit rating agencies. This year’s conversation revolved around the hot topics of inflation and ESG. One important takeaway: there’s not much for tech companies to worry about (yet). The chief lending officer at meeting sponsor BNY Mellon moderated…
BankingCapital Markets
November 10, 2021

Stars Aligned for Now on Bank Subordinated Debt, Preferred Stock

Morgan Stanley says regional banks should consider moving up offerings to this year given volatility risk. Regional and mid-cap banks are looking to raise capital, whether to refinance existing debt, buy back stock or support balance sheet growth, and the market is hot—at least for now, according to Morgan Stanley bankers presenting at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Regional Bank Treasurers. But volatility in the aftermath of last week’s Fed meeting could prompt institutional investors to pull back.So banks considering…
Capital MarketsESG
November 10, 2021

Extra Credit: Energy Companies Issuing Debt from Green Subsidiaries

Bonds issued by energy company transition business units are preferred by debt investors who screen for green.Bonds issued by entities within energy companies that are focused on low- or no carbon emission projects and technology are far more likely to appeal to some asset managers than debt issued by the holding company. That takeaway emerged at a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Oil & Gas Treasury sponsored by Societe Generale during a session that featured two debt investors, one representing…
Capital MarketsESG
November 3, 2021

Drilling for Clarity on How ESG Factors Influence Credit Ratings

Oil and gas sector analysts are scrambling to explain to energy companies the link between ESG scores and credit risk.The momentum behind ESG mandates and the conviction that companies committed to sustainability represent better investment risks have put pressure on ratings agencies to reconcile traditional credit ratings with ESG scores. This reconciliation has become more challenging as the agencies themselves begin to offer ESG scores or ratings as well as sustainability assessments. One approach is to explain in more detail…
Capital MarketsTalking Shop
September 30, 2021

Talking Shop: How Long Is Your 10b5-1 Buyback Cooling-Off Period?

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]. Member question: “We have stringent guidelines for establishing 10b5-1 plans: A cooling-off period of 30 days between executing a 10b5-1 plan and the first trade under the plan. “The program should generally be no shorter than six months in duration and must not be ‘front-loaded’ (i.e., relatively even purchases over five months).“We’re…
Capital MarketsTechnology
September 23, 2021

The Sun Sets for Some on Easy, Shared Access to Bloomberg Terminals

Adjusting to the end of Terminal access via Bloomberg Disaster Recovery amid hybrid work. Many treasury and finance teams that relied on Bloomberg’s Disaster Recovery (DR) services to share access to the company’s powerful Terminals are adapting to the end of their access. It’s a challenge for some teams, given that many employees will continue to work from home part of the week and won’t have access to Terminals in offices.That’s leading more companies to consider replacing physical Terminals with…
Capital MarketsCompliance
September 23, 2021

Caution at the 10b5-1 Intersection: Buyback Plans and Insider Sales

Companies using 10b5-1 plans for buybacks should keep informed about possible SEC rule changes aimed at executive stock sales.The treasurer of a mega-cap tech company told peers at a recent NeuGroup meeting that he’s been hearing more “noise with regards to the SEC tightening up controls around repurchase windows” from the company’s legal team. He added, “We’re going to keep a close eye on it. We may tighten up our rules.” The very same day—Sept. 9—SEC Chairman Gary Gensler thanked…
Capital MarketsCash InvestmentsCrypto
September 9, 2021

Hunting for Yield With Crypto-based Lending Amid Regulatory Fog

Corporates seeking better returns on cash by lending crypto weigh falling rates and regulatory uncertainty.News this week that the SEC is investigating Coinbase Global over a lending program and may sue the company could have a chilling effect on corporates that were considering buying and then lending cryptocurrency to pick up yield. But the fact remains that corporate treasuries have been challenged for years to find investments in which to park cash that provide attractive, positive returns.And a small but increasing…
Capital MarketsD&IESG
August 5, 2021

A Pioneer Plugs Into Energy Sector Sustainability-Linked Financing

Enbridge, the pipeline operator, is the first midstream firm in North America to do sustainability-linked financing. Presenting to members of NeuGroup for Oil & Gas Treasury (sponsored by Societe Generale), Sheldon Bueckert, director of treasury at Enbridge, shared his experience helping lead the company’s sustainability-linked bond (SLB) and loan financings, a first for a midstream firm in North America. The session focused on a SLB that Enbridge issued in late June.Key SLB details. On June 23, 2021, Enbridge hosted 131 investors…