FXTechnology
March 16, 2023

Advancing Analytics: FX is Embracing AI and ML

Rising pressure to protect earnings from currency volatility is prompting FX risk managers to pursue more advanced analytics.Sixty-nine percent: That’s the percentage of participants in a recent NeuGroup for Foreign Exchange monthly session who are already using or are exploring the adoption of advanced analytics solutions. Their reasons include improving the quality of the FX exposure forecast, conducting scenario planning and having a more refined capability to measure hedge program performance in terms of volume, effectiveness and cost. A sweeping trend. The pursuit…
FX
March 2, 2023

Lowering the Volume on FX Noise in the P&L

Higher interest rates and economic uncertainty have treasuries taking a long look at FX risk management programs. Recent signs of economic strength and enduring inflation have raised the specter of more interest rate hikes. This does not come as a surprise to NeuGroup members: In the Treasurers’ 2023 Agenda Survey, they ranked political and financial volatility as second and third on their list of risks for this year. That’s up from fourth and fifth place in 2022. Increased scrutiny. While economic and…
FXTechnology
January 12, 2023

Seeing Is Believing: Micron Collaborates With Procurement To Cut Costs

Treasury at Micron is partnering with the procurement team to mitigate financial risk from supplier contracts. The US dollar and commodity price strength have provided treasury an opportunity to demonstrate its capability to accurately mitigate a company’s financial risk exposure. They have also increased awareness about the consequences of commodity and FX fluctuations at the business-unit level. Micron Technology, a semiconductor company with global operations and heavy manufacturing in APAC, is US-dollar functional across its enterprise. Therefore, procuring tools and…
FX
September 30, 2022

To Hedge or Not to Hedge FX Exposures When Volatility Spikes

Pausing a hedging program risks undermining the perceived value of hedging by senior executives and the board. “Should we stop hedging?” The surge in the US dollar this year against other major currencies has prompted some FX risk management teams to ask that question as well as others about hedging strategy amid disruptive volatility, bankers at Wells Fargo said at a fall meeting for NeuGroup for Foreign Exchange sponsored by the bank. The questions come amid a big jump in…
FXTalking Shop
September 15, 2022

Talking Shop, FX Edition: EUR Forwards; Hedging Depreciation

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 1: “Going out to one year for EUR, what size tranches are you trading for EUR forwards? Could I trade $10 million-$20 million? $20 million-$30 million? Peer answer 1: “The one-year EUR forward is pretty liquid, but to keep the spread narrow, we typically keep our size under USD 30 million equivalent…
FXTalking ShopTechnology
August 11, 2022

Talking Shop: Benchmarking Cash Flow Hedging

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: “Here are some benchmarking questions about cash flow hedging: 1. “What percentage of cash flow exposures do you hedge?2. “What instruments do you use to hedge?3. “How far into the future do you hedge?4. “Given the current strength of the US dollar, are you contemplating changing your FX hedging program?” Peer answers, question 1 (hedge…
FXRegional
July 14, 2022

Righting the FX Hedging Ship After a Perfect Storm

Lessons learned and changes made after a plunge in JPY reveals cracks in communication and processes. The plunge of the Japanese yen (JPY) this year to its lowest level against the US dollar in more than two decades (see chart) revealed communication problems at one NeuGroup member company between FX risk managers in treasury and the sales team in Japan—problems that could have resulted in a painful financial outcome. Instead, the company’s treasurer came away with valuable lessons for any…
FX
July 14, 2022

Reducing FX Risk: The AtlasFX Vision

AtlasFX CFO Scott Bilter discusses the implications of a possible commodity bull market for FX risk managers in an interview with NeuGroup CEO Joseph Neu. Managing foreign exchange risk at multinational corporations is never easy. But it’s definitely harder during periods of market volatility and economic uncertainty—like the one roiling FX markets now. Among the recent challenges facing NeuGroup members who manage FX risk: The US dollar has soared against the euro and the Japanese yen as the Federal Reserve…
FXTalking Shop
May 26, 2022

Talking Shop: What Is Your Hedge Horizon?

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: “For Neugroup members with an FX cash flow hedging program, what is your hedge horizon? “For context, we hedge up to two years and we’re looking to revise that horizon (potentially up to three years) in our FX policy.“Last, what determines your hedge horizon (e.g., budget cycle, product development cycle, contracts,…
FXSenior Executive
May 5, 2022

Sharpen the Focus: Fostering More Productive FX Meetings

Approaches to more productive meetings include highlighting world events, more detailed program updates and updating dashboards. After a recent quarterly risk meeting, a senior leader gave this advice to one FX risk manager to improve the productivity of future meetings: Highlight only new developments and events, come with any specific asks and leave anything else to pre-meeting reading materials. Up to this point, much of the two-hour meetings consisted of a comprehensive update on everything the FX team had done…