Category

Regional

BankingRegional
March 10, 2022

Russia Crisis: Finance Navigates Complexity, Fluidity, Unknowns

Paying staff in Russia as companies exit and complying with complex sanctions increase pressure on finance leaders. Editor’s note: NeuGroup is running weekly special sessions on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis to help members navigate the financial consequences of the war. NeuGroup senior executive advisor Paul Dalle Molle, a former banker with extensive European experience, leads the discussions, and we asked him to share his latest insights and takeaways.  By Paul Dalle Molle At this stage of the crisis, there are still,…
Justin Jones
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BankingRegional
March 3, 2022

Russia Sanctions and Counter-sanctions: Treasury Prepares for the Unknown

NeuGroup’s Feb. 28 emergency session on the implications of Russian bank sanctions helped treasurers share challenges and learn from others’ real-time responses.The crisis in Europe has the potential to wreak havoc on global payments systems, and the stakes are high. Many multinational companies have Russian operations and relationships with local banks (for payroll at least) that may be on the sanctions list. These corporates are therefore sitting on potentially trapped cash. Others own stakes in Russian companies; we saw BP…
Justin Jones
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BankingRegional
February 3, 2022

Russia Sanctions Strategy: Corporates Prepare for Disruptions

Members at a special NeuGroup session discuss banks, dividends, SWIFT payments and more amid Russia-Ukraine tensions.Cross-border payments with SWIFT, relationships with local and foreign banks and repatriating funds are among the key focal points of corporate treasury teams planning for possible US and EU sanctions if Russia attacks Ukraine. That takeaway surfaced Wednesday at a NeuGroup session on contingency planning attended by more than 80 members—a packed virtual house that shows the significance of the situation for corporates with business…
Justin Jones
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ESGRegionalTechnology
November 17, 2021

A Closer Look at China’s Approach to Tech Through an ‘S’ in ESG Lens

An expert on China shares how tech firms should prepare to navigate the Chinese government’s recent pivot.By Joseph NeuSome Western observers are quick to see a Chinese Communist Party crackdown on technology companies as a reaction to the rising power of tech giants. But you can also view it through a social lens that aligns with the equity and inclusion goals of many global corporations. Seen this way, it may be more of a China-specific approach to a global trend…
Justin Jones
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RegionalTreasury Management
October 18, 2021

Payoffs From ‘Preaching the Gospel of Global Treasury Operations’

Partnering with global business services (GBS) helped one treasury team boost cash visibility and achieve consistency.Companies expanding globally have often left regional affiliates with their own treasury back offices to support the local business, resulting in fragmentation of the treasury function and costly inefficiencies. That takes time away from corporate treasury that could be spent addressing more strategic issues.   “Preaching the gospel of global treasury operations,” the assistant treasurer (AT) of one NeuGroup member company said, required convincing local…
Justin Jones
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FXRegional
July 29, 2021

RMB vs. USD: Watching Closely as China Builds ‘Parallel Universes’

Standard Chartered advises keeping an eye on China as accelerating use of the RMB helps the nation separate itself from the pack.In a recent meeting of NeuGroup for Tech Treasurers centered around China’s economy, Standard Chartered’s global head of research Eric Robertsen kicked things off with an anecdote. Just over ten years ago, a Congo-based wood supplier had its supply of wood bought out by a Chinese business that paid in USD. Just three years later, Chinese businesses were still…
Justin Jones
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FXRegionalRisk Management
July 1, 2021

The Option to Use Options: Hedging FX Risk in Emerging Markets

FX risk managers rely on flexibility at a multinational that wants to participate in beneficial currency moves. The ability to use options is essential for an FX risk manager at one NeuGroup member whose company wants to participate in favorable currency moves when hedging exposures in emerging markets. He described the company’s approach at a spring meeting sponsored by HSBC. The bank cited research showing that “the incentive to hedge EM risk has increased over the past 10 years” and “bouts…
Justin Jones
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CryptoRegionalTechnology
June 24, 2021

China and Beyond: Understanding Central Bank Digital Currencies

Insights from HSBC on CBDCs, as China’s tests of a government-backed digital currency, dubbed e-CNY, grow larger.Most multinationals in the NeuGroup Network do business in China, just one reason finance teams need to stay on top of the country’s expanding tests of a digital version of the yuan known as the e-CNY, a so-called central bank digital currency or CBDC. HSBC’s global head of FX research, Paul Mackel, spoke at a NeuGroup virtual interactive session sponsored by the bank this…
Justin Jones
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FXRegionalRisk Management
June 10, 2021

Rescue Mission: Saving Trapped Cash in Depreciating Currency Markets

For projects in volatile economies, creative thinking from treasury could be critical.Profit is not a profit until it’s back in the US. That reality for many multinationals formed the backdrop at a recent NeuGroup meeting for treasurers of large-cap companies where members shared their approaches on how to react when a country’s economic environment takes a problematic turn. Emerging market nations including Argentina, Turkey and Brazil dominated the conversation, as their currencies carry risk of intense devaluation, exacerbating regulatory rules that can trap…
Justin Jones
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RegionalTalking Shop
June 10, 2021

Talking Shop: Reducing Impact of Negative Interest Rates in Europe

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: “What solutions are available to reduce the impact of negative interest rates in the eurozone? “Our bank there charges 1% on euro deposits. We have cash pooling, but converting to USD daily seems like a pain.” Peer answer 1: “Our global bank charges us 0.5% at the moment, but…
Justin Jones
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