Types of Forward Contract

20-10-2022 | Harry Mills | treasuryXL | LinkedIn

A forward contract is an agreement to buy or sell one currency for another at an agreed rate and at an agreed future date. Forwards are traded over the counter, meaning they are not traded on a central exchange; instead, they are privately negotiated, legally binding agreements between two parties, typically a bank or broker and its client.

By Harry Mills

Source

Types of forward contract

For businesses, forward contracts provide a mechanism to secure exchange rates for future exposures and minimise the impact of currency fluctuations and market volatility. Forwards are favoured by treasurers and FDs/CFOs for their simplicity, availability, flexibility, and certainty they provide.

The exchange rate on a Forward is typically higher or lower than the spot rate – this is due to the interest rate differential of the two currencies involved. Read more in my blog post on forward pricing for more information!

 

The Benefits of Forward Contracts

The decision to hedge or not is unique to each business and its situation. If currency hedging is appropriate and would help a business to reduce risk and achieve its objectives, then forward contracts will likely play an important role in the strategy:

 

  • Certainty – Guarantee the exchange rate for future payments or receipts
  • Predictability – Securing future conversion rates makes cash flows predictable
  • Flexibility – Some contracts can be used at any time before the maturity date
  • Simplicity – Trade quickly online, in any size, and in most currencies

Types of Forward Contract

The basics apply to all contracts – a set amount, rate, and future maturity date, but there are three main types of forward contracts to be aware of:

  1. Fixed: Settlement is restricted to one future date only
  2. Open: Fully flexible, allowing settlement at any time up to the maturity date
  3. Window: Can be utilised within a window of time up to the maturity date

The open forward gives the most flexibility for drawdowns and utilisation, but it can come at a price: The reason that three types of contract are available is that the forward rate is influenced heavily by the length of the contract and the size and sign (positive or negative) of the interest rate differential of the two currencies involved. There could be a benefit to a business in selecting a fixed or window forward contract, rather than a fully flexible, open contract.

A quick example:

  • An Irish company imports from China in USD (so they sell EUR to buy USD)
  • They have an invoice of $500K to pay in 6 months’ time
  • The spot rate is EUR/USD 1.0000, and the 6m swap points are +0.0120
  • Open Forward exchange rate is quoted at 1.0000, $500K costs €500,000
  • Fixed Forward exchange rate is quoted at 1.0120, $500K costs €494,071

 

If in doubt, you should speak to your FX provider about forward pricing and which solution would be best for your needs, balancing flexibility and market pricing.

What to look for from your FX provider

Your currency provider should provide you with clear and consistent pricing for forward contracts. They should give you transparent and honest guidance as to the pros and cons of each contract type, and allow you transact how you want, whether that’s over the phone or online.

It’s common for FX brokers to overcharge or “keep” forward points to increase spreads (their margins), so ask for a fixed pricing schedule which includes transparency on forward points.

Open Fwd-va9lk

Window Fwd-tw7b7

Forward with Oku Markets

Oku Markets provides live forward contract trading to clients online and via our telephone dealing desk. We always give our customers fixed, consistent, fair, and transparent FX prices, so you can trust us to work with you, not against you!

Contact us at @[email protected]   or 0203 838 0250 to discuss your needs!

Here’s a quick video of our online platform showing the few clicks to trade:

Thanks for reading 👋

 

Harry Mills

Founder at Oku Markets

Managing Business FX Risk

Eurofinance remains THE event for corporate treasurers | By Pieter de Kiewit

12-10-2022  treasuryXL | Pieter de Kiewit | Treasurer Search  LinkedIn

 

Throughout covid times the organizers of Eurofinance remained active and were able to create interesting web-based events. Still, general opinion in last weeks’ event in Vienna was that there is nothing like the live thing. The programme was packed with interesting content, the event floor with interesting companies and visitors.

By Pieter de Kiewit

Communication leading up to the event and the venue, the Wien Messe, radiated experience in events of this size. The numbers of representatives and visitors were impressive. Luckily, the venue is big enough to not nerve the visitors who have to get used to large crowds again.

The programme was spread out over the very large room for plenary meetings, five large rooms for parallel session with presentations & panel discussions and “open rooms” on the trade floor. Key note speakers like Guy Verhofstadt and Goran Carstedt were able to enthuse with stories beyond the scope of treasury, others covered topics about treasury technology, both practical & visionary and treasury organization, for example about my personal favourite, the treasury labour market.

For many, the trade floor was easily as interesting as the content. Visitors gained market information, for example preparing for a TMS selection and implementation. Also reuniting with old treasury friends and getting to know new ones, was relatively easy during well catered breaks. Some of the visitors created new legends during the Thursday night afterparty that is not covered by this looking-back-blog.

As treasuryXL ambassador I visited the various partners of the platform present and received positive feedback on the event. So Cobase, Kyriba, TIS, CashForce, Nomentia, Refinitiv and CashAnalytics, we hope to see you again in Barcelona again and welcome a number of new ones.

 

Hasta luego,

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Pieter de Kiewit

 

 

Interview Haia Aaraj, Recruitment Consultant at Treasurer Search

11-10-2022 | treasuryXL | LinkedIn |

 

Speaking about a rockstar within recruitment for treasury you think about Haia. She started working for Treasurer Search as a Recruitment Consultant at the beginning of this year and celebrated many successes with the team since then.

Haia is a down-to-earth, spontaneous and proactive human being with a hilarious sense of humor! You will be very lucky to work with her as someone who is searching for a next treasury adventure or if your company is in need of a treasurer.

 

 

We wanted to know Haia a bit more and we asked her the following questions. Happy reading!

7 questions for Haia, let’s go!

INTERVIEW

 

1. Treasurer Search is a recruitment business for treasury based in the Netherlands. What is your role within the company? And can you tell us more about your background?

I’m a recruitment consultant at Treasurer Search, so I’m mainly responsible for assignments from our clients to hire treasury professionals (from A to Z), and here we’re talking about Juniors up to executive level assignments. About my background, I have a Bachelor in Sociology and a high Technical Diploma in Management. I started in recruitment since 2016 doing some internships, and officially started as a recruitment assistant at a medical centre, then a company in Dubai where I made my way to the upper level and I left as a Recruitment manager. I moved to the NL and started at Treasurer Search in Feb, 2022.

2. How would you describe Treasurer Search in 3 words?

Well-connected / Transparent / Professional

 

3. What is, in your perception, the biggest benefit for clients and candidates to work with Treasurer Search?

They will be working with Recruiters who are experienced in both recruitment and treasury, so we know who a good cash manager or group treasurer is. At the same time, Treasurer Search provides a transparent recruitment process, no surprises or hidden info, alongside the smoothness in communication.

4. You started at Treasurer Search with zero knowledge about Treasury 8 months ago. Now you are a Rockstar in matching the right candidate with a client. What’s your secret?

In today’s world, everyone can learn whatever they want in no time, the resources available are at a wide range. For me it was mainly reading, attending online courses, and of course, learning from the experts in this field.

 

5. How do you stay informed about the recruiting industry combined with treasury trends?

Attending as much helpful webinars as possible. Also following the stars in both industries is very helpful because you need to stay up-to-date, don’t you?

 

6. What do you think is the most rewarding aspect of being a treasury recruiter?

Being a treasury recruiter widen your aspects of how the financial management works. You forget about traditional roles in business finance and you learn treasury is way more than the basics that the public knows.

 

7. What are you most proud of in your career at Treasurer Search so far?

When I started at Treasurer Search I was new to the country, and the treasury. This is where my colleagues played the big part and helped a lot through time. Now I’ve integrated well in the society as well as learned a lot about treasury. Mainly, I’m proud of my colleagues who played an essential part in this big movement for me.

 

Want to connect with Haia? Click here

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Kendra Keydeniers

Director Community & Partners, treasuryXL

LIVE SESSION | My Treasury Career Development & How the Register Treasurer education contributed

29-09-2022  treasuryXL | Treasurer Search | LinkedIn

 

Are you thinking about how you can shape your treasury career and in need for inspiration? There are plenty of education opportunities, but in what education will you invest?

 

 

You are invited to join our next Live Session. Registration is Now Open for:

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝

There is no standard career path for treasurers but one can learn from the choices and developments of the successful ones.

In this webinar two graduated Register Treasurers will share their stories:

  • 🌟 Jurgen Wessel RT is interim Head of Treasury of SHV and has experience in a variety of international companies at HQ and treasury hub level.
  • 🌟 Frank van der Hoeven RT van der Hoeven used to be a banker, moved to the corporate side and currently is Treasury Manager at IMCD, well-known for many successful acquisition and integration processes.

They will tell you about how they moved between various stations and will pay special attention to the added value of their post academic degree: The Treasury Management and Corporate Finance programme (RT Programme) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam).

 

REGISTER HERE

 

Everyone is welcome to this webinar. This webinar is extra relevant for those who consider joining the RT programme.

🌟Moderator: Pieter de Kiewit of Treasurer Search

🌟Duration: 45 minutes

 

We can’t wait to welcome you next week!

Best regards,

 

 

Kendra Keydeniers

Director, Community & Partners

 

 

 

 

What is Pricing Risk (FX Risk) and how to deal with it?

22-09-2022 | Harry Mills | treasuryXL | LinkedIn

Also known as pre-transaction risk, pricing risk occurs between a transaction being priced and agreed upon. It materialises when exchange rates change after a quote has been delivered, either impacting the sales margin or incurring a re-price. treasuryXL expert Harry Mills, founder & CEO of CEO Oku Markets, will explain to us what Pricing Risk is all about, and how to deal with it.

By Harry Mills

Source

Who experiences pricing risk?

Businesses experience pricing risk to a greater or lesser extent depending on the nature of their business, their marketplace, and their sales and purchasing cycles. We find it helpful to consider the following initial points when assessing pricing risk:

  1. Is the transaction FX-denominated, influenced, or relatively insensitive?
  2. What is the timeline between quoting and agreement?
  3. What impact would a +/- 5% or 10% FX move have on margins?

A transaction is “FX-denominated” when it is in a currency other than the firm’s functional currency. An example is a UK business providing a quote to an Irish business for an export sale denominated in euros (instead of GBP).

How much influence? An example…

You’ll likely have an intuitive idea of the level of influence that fluctuations in FX rates have on your transactions, but consider a UK company that designs and builds high-end bespoke summer houses (why not?):

  • The company imports unfinished timber and metal fixings priced in dollars, and sources glass and other furnishings and materials from within the UK
  • The per-unit cost of production will be affected by movements in the GBPUSD exchange rate because timber is a major cost
  • But the basket of production costs also includes the UK-sourced materials, shipping, labour (design and build), amongst others (warehousing, storage etc.)
  • So we can see that a 5% drop in GBPUSD wouldn’t result in a 5% increase in production costs – understanding this relationship and ratio is critical

“Businesses should understand the precise impact of currency fluctuations on their costs and/or revenues to determine their FX sensitivity, especially concerning pricing risk”

Harry Mills, Founder & CEO Oku Markets

One-Size doesn’t fit all

Getting to grips with pricing risk can be fairly straightforward for FX-denominated transactions with a straight-through and linear FX impact on the price, but most businesses have a more complex setup.

Many businesses are converting from a just-in-time to a just-in-case stock strategy. which can bring complexity and may add to pricing risk. It’s our view, here at Oku Markets, that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for currency management, so here’s a few areas to think about:

  • Stock cycle and costing method
  • Pricing strategy and flexibility
  • FX price sensitivity (as detailed above)
  • The competitive environment and market practices

Pricing risk can impact procurement and sales, although we mostly think about the pricing that we are delivering. What about the pricing we receive, as customers? It’s not uncommon for Chinese exporters to add a large buffer to their prices to factor in fluctuations and depreciation in the USDCNY exchange rate. Read more about China and the yuan.

So it’s worth considering and asking your suppliers and international partners about how they manage FX – is there an opportunity for increased transparency and better terms by tackling the problem together?

FX Risk Map

It might be helpful to visualise the lifecycle of a transaction to identify when currency risk occurs. Again, there is no one-size template for this – every business’ FX Risk Map will look a little different, but here’s a basic setup to get started with:

  • Pricing Risk: the FX risk between quote and agreement
  • Transaction Risk: the FX risk between agreement and settlement
  • Translation Risk: the FX risk between accounting (PO/invoice) and settlement
FX Risk Map copy-cwoah

Dealing with Pricing Risk

Three ways you can reduce pricing risk and deliver more consistent results are:

  1. Include a quote expiry date – limiting the time reduces risk
  2. Add an FX buffer to the price – 5% is typical for short periods
  3. Build an FX clause into the quote – transparency means no surprises

The most appropriate route or combination of mitigating actions is unique to each business. An online travel company delivering live holiday prices will require higher frequency updates to FX rates and a tighter quote expiry date and FX buffer when compared to a company providing quotes for custom-designed summer houses.

When it comes to an FX buffer, we suggest considering the volatility of the currency pair and adjusting for the relevant quote period.

Let us help you quantify your FX risk

Quantifying currency exposure requires thought and specialist skills and expertise. Most FX brokers lack the capabilities to do this properly, resorting instead to emotionally-charged deal-making which can result in poor outcomes for clients.

We’re proud to work transparently with our clients, and we work hard to break the asymmetry of knowledge and information in the FX market.

You can contact us for a review of your currency processes and for our guidance and suggestions at [email protected] or 0203 838 0250.

Thanks for reading 👋

 

Harry Mills

Founder at Oku Markets

Managing Business FX Risk

Where did the treasury applicants go? | By Pieter de Kiewit

19-09-2022  treasuryXL | Pieter de Kiewit | Treasurer Search  LinkedIn

As treasury recruiters, we should know enough about corporate treasury to do intakes and screen candidates. Also, we should know the latest about what’s happening in the field of recruitment and so we read the publications of Geert-Jan Waasdorp of The Intelligence Group. I would like to share his latest, very interesting article and build the treasury connection.

By Pieter de Kiewit

Labour market pressures are not equally distributed among all employers.

I left a link if you want to read the full article but this is roughly what he says. There is a huge growth in people working since before covid. In parallel, there is a huge decline in active applicants. This pressure in the labour market is not evenly distributed among all employers. The ones that can find new employees can do so because of a strong employer brand and increased investments in own or external recruitment. Also, they are willing to decide quick and offer a better package.

So what does this mean if we project these findings on the corporate treasury labour market? My personal observation is that treasury staff is, on average, less driven by the company brand and more by the job content than candidates from other job types. We learned this working for clients like Tesla and Nike. Employer branding specifically towards treasurers would also be hard, I cannot envision a corporate recruiter promoting his manufacturing company at Eurofinance.

How to adapt?

The obvious low-hanging fruit is that the hiring manager, already at the start of the process, has to organise and choose a mindset in the following: being able to decide quickly, from fewer candidates than before, and offering more than the old standard. Even highly skilled recruiters sometimes underestimate these aspects over time.

The judgement if the internal recruitment team is equipped to tackle the search or whether an external one should do the job – we, Treasurer Search – I will not elaborate on here. What I do want to mention is another obvious source that can be opened. For some of us that are considered a paradigm shift: bringing treasury talent in from abroad, from within the EU or even sponsoring a work permit. I am aware that some of us consider this topic highly political. What I can tell, both from our own organisation, as well as from successful placements with our clients, that this can be a very successful solution. In the Dutch labour market already the majority of candidates placed by us is non-Dutch. This is not a plea to open the borders and not be critical. Regretfully we have examples where this solution did not lead to success as coming to The Netherlands can be hard for the new employee. But also locally found candidates can fail in their new job.

My conclusion is that indeed, the world is different, as is the labour market. And given current demographic developments I do not expect a shift back. Luckily there are solutions but we will have to accept the consequences and cannot lean back. Those that do will shrink and go extinct.

Good luck in your search,

Pieter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Pieter de Kiewit

Meet our partners at the EuroFinance next week!

14-09-2022 | treasuryXL | EuroFinance| LinkedIn

 

The EuroFinance will finally open their doors in exactly one week. After two years everyone can meet in person again at the largest and most senior gathering of corporate treasurers worldwide.

For over 30 years, EuroFinance is where best-in-class treasury teams come together with the most innovative fintechs and renowned financial institutions to share experiences, discuss best practices and collaborate to solve the challenges of the day.

Schedule your EuroFinance program in advance

 

Benefit from the extensive expertise of 150 world-class speakers across 3 days of thought-provoking keynotes, lively debates, in-depth case studies and technical discovery labs providing practical insights and key skills to advance your treasury.

With such a great number of high quality sessions it’s wise to schedule your session program in advance.

Click here for the full agenda

Click here for the speakers overview

The line-up of 150 world speakers includes:

  • Kristina Moller, Treasury director, Spotify
  • Wendy Venema, Assistant treasurer, Tata Steel
  • Elise le Clerc Director global treasury Willis Tower Watson
  • Jean-Baptiste Disdet, Treasury technology director, Japan Tobacco International
  • Kristina Moller, Treasury director, Spotify
  • Mack Makode, VP, treasurer, Under Armour
  • Mandana Sadigh, SVP, corporate treasurer, Mattel
  • Victor Pausin, Treasurer – Americas, Nissan Motors
  • Clive Bailey, Treasurer, FCE Bank

Connect with our highly valued partners for a chat and a coffee

 

We are happy to announce that the partners that are highlighted below will host a booth at the expo. Together with them we build the treasuryXL community by delivering daily treasury news, blogs, events and vacancies.

They would love to welcome you at the expo and invite you for a quick chat. You can also book your appointment in advance to secure some extra time. Contact me directly and I will introduce you personally.

Technology sponsors plus

Kyriba

Technology sponsors

TIS

Gold exhibitors

Nomentia

GTreasury

Silver exhibitors

CashAnalytics

Refinitiv

Bronze exhibitors

Kantox

Innovation alley

Cobase

 

 

 

I wish you a great time at the EuroFinance. Safe travels and enjoy!

Kendra Keydeniers

 

 

 

 

 

Quickly refresh your treasury knowledge? Download our eBook: What is Treasury?

08-09-2022 | treasuryXL | LinkedIn |

Hello Treasurers, CFO’s, Cash Managers, Controllers and other Finance addicts, how do you quickly refresh your treasury knowledge? Or how do you explain ‘What Treasury is’ to family and friends? Well, there is a simple solution for it. Download our eBook: What is Treasury? 

This eBook compiled by treasury describers all aspects of the treasury function. This comprehensive book covers relevant topics such as Treasury, Corporate Finance, Cash Management, Risk Management, Working Capital Management.

This eBook was prepared by treasuryXL based on the most useful best practices offered by Treasury professionals throughout the previous years. We compiled the most crucial information for you and wrote clear, concise articles about the key topics in the World of Treasury.

We took a deeper dive into each of the above-mentioned treasury functions and highlight:

  • The purpose of each named Treasury function (What is?)
  • What specialists do
  • Examples of Activities
  • Summary of Frequently Asked Questions and answers
  • Conclusion

How to receive the eBook ‘What is Treasury’ for Free?

We simply giveaway two presents for you! By signing up for our newsletter you will automatically receive the following in your inbox:

  1. On Fridays, our Coffee Break weekly newsletter will land in your inbox. In this weekly newsletter, we will highlight the whole week full of the latest treasury news within our community.
  2. The 41 pages eBook, What is Treasury?
Subscribe and Download

 

Subscribe, Join, Download and Relax.

Welcome to our community and have fun reading!

 

 

Kendra Keydeniers

Director, Community & Partners at treasuryXL

 

 

 

 

RECAP | Cash and Treasury Management Event Copenhagen | By Pieter de Kiewit

06-09-2022 | cashandtreasury.dk | treasuryXL | Pieter de Kiewit | LinkedIn

 

Last week, Pieter de Kiewit was Chairman of the Cash & Treasury Management Conference in Copenhagen. Pieter decided to take the effort to share his experience with you.

 

By Pieter de Kiewit, Chairman of the event

Corporate treasury events come in many shapes and sizes. Earlier this year, I reported on my visit to Mannheim, in a few weeks you can expect a blog about Vienna, in this blog more about Copenhagen. I can already tell you that I liked the format and set-up of this event.

Corporate treasury markets will always be very niche. The event organiser, Insight Events, targeted a mainly Danish-Scandinavian audience. The sessions were all in English and the venue was the beautiful Hotel D’Angleterre in the heart of Copenhagen. It was also a conscious choice to keep the audience small, just under 150 and of high calibre: almost all treasurers, most of them quite senior and well informed. The consequence of this choice is also that there were no parallel sessions, all sessions were attended by the entire audience. During the break one could meet the various treasury service and product providers, including treasuryXL partner Nomentia.

Last year, I was asked to present on “how to get hired for your next treasury position” and had some questions during other sessions. Based on the bond we built, I was asked to be moderator/chairman of this year’s event. I thought it was a great gig, if it was appreciated, you just have to ask others.


The programme consisted of presentations and panel discussions led by Nordea. I was impressed by the level of quality offered. There were two macro-economic presentations, one by the Chief Economist of Nordea, a well-known TV personality in Denmark and the other by a senior director of EKF, the Danish export credit agency. Both gentlemen brought very thorough interesting insights but, given the current global developments, also a gloomy and dark future.

Another highlight was the input on ESG financing where treasurers and senior sustainability experts together informed the audience about the reality of this type of funding making in, at least for me, an inspiring way. In a cleverly constructed format, credit rating and Basel IV developments were linked in a session with the most questions from the audience.

In other, more traditional but also essential and informative sessions, building treasury teams, mergers and career development were on the agenda. And the non-treasury topic was brought up in a very entertaining way about a hacked company that does not want to pay a ransom. Relevant not only for treasurers and definitely food for thought.

Looking back, I see a very successful and high quality event. On a personal note, I always enjoy the international in my work. Me as a Dutchman, extrovert, direct and sometimes unintentionally rude, communicating with civilised, reserved Scandinavians who do not ask too many questions hopefully did not result in not being invited for next year. We shall see…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Pieter de Kiewit

Cash & Treasury Management: Join The World’s Leading Experts in Copenhagen

04-08-2022 | cashandtreasury.dk | treasuryXL | LinkedIn

 

Featuring Chairman of the event, Pieter de Kiewit – Owner of Treasurer Search

 

Be a part of the exclusive Cash & Treasury Management Conference on the 1st of September 2022, which will be held in the extraordinary luxury settings at Hotel d’Angleterre in Copenhagen.

Get updated, expand your network, and get inspiration for optimizing your work within the Cash & Treasury Management community.

 

 

The international program consists of selected and experienced speakers that have proven success within a certain area of Cash & Treasury as e.g., ESG, digitalization and Cash Management. The conference brings together a selected group of high-level senior treasurers from global organizations. Learn from your international peers and join the exclusive network. The event ensures you a full day of new knowledge and inspiration made for high level Treasurers. You get in-depth with the latest trends, valuable content from recognized speakers and extensive networking opportunities.

Among others, these topics have been selected for this year’s conference:

  • Sustainability financing – experiences one year down the road
  • Proprietary data driven cash flow forecasting model
  • How we integrated Nets Group Treasury in to Nexi Group treasury
  • Experiences from a massive hacking attack
  • A career within Novo Nordisk treasury
  • Macroeconomic trends and predictions
REGISTER VIA TREASURYXL

 

As part of TreasuryXL’s network we offer treasurers 25 % discount.

Sign up now and join us 1 September – Remember to use the code when signing up: TreasuryXL25

 

 

Read the program and learn more about participation and sponsorship opportunities: cashandtreasury.dk