Reminder: INFORMATION EVENING TREASURY MANAGEMENT & CORPORATE FINANCE

| 12-11-2018 | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |

On Thursday 15 November 2018 the Information Evening for the Postgraduate programs, including the Treasury Management & Corporate Finance program, will take place at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Anyone interested in this program is welcome to get an impression and to get to know the people involved.

You are welcome as of 18.00 hours. The program for Treasury Management & Corporate Financestarts at 20.30 hours. Afterwards there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

We herewith kindly request you to inform potential candidates in your office and/or your network, about this meeting.

Program Information Evening 15 November 2018:

18.00 hrs. Walk in with coffee / tea and sandwiches
18.30 hrs. Investment Management
19.30 hrs. Risk Management for Financial Institutions
20.30 hrs. Treasury Management & Corporate Finance

Location

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam
Room Agora  (main building, 3rd floor)

VU Accessibility

Registration and information

Myrthe Scholze
020-598 2171
[email protected]
https://ee.sbe.vu.nl/nl/over-vu-executive-education/voorlichtingsdagen/index.aspx

Sincerely,

Herbert Rijken and Robert Dekker

SANCTIONS IN LOAN AGREEMENTS; A BORROWER’S PERSPECTIVE

| 8-11-2018 | Solusius Treasury Lawyers | treasuryXL |

Introduction

Compliance with sanction laws is an important topic in loan documentation. In view of increased sanction legislation, intensified enforcement and huge potential fines, lenders insist more and more on stringent clauses to ensure compliance with sanction laws by borrowers. While some years ago sanctions were no topic at all, lenders currently include sanction related representations, general covenants and information covenants in loan agreements. Many lenders fear reputational risk if a client violates sanctions and lenders tend to draft sanctions clauses that are more restrictive and broader than the sanction laws applicable to the borrower or even to the lender itself. Such broad sanction clauses may hamper the borrower in its ordinary course of business and increase the risk of an event of default under the loan agreement considerably. A description of sanction laws and the specific impact thereof for corporates are outside the scope of this article; here only sanction wording in loan agreements will be addressed a borrower may be confronted with.

Negotiating sanction clauses

Unfortunately, negotiating sanction wording tends to be difficult. Lenders often argue that the proposed wording is standard wording for the bank(s) and that deviations cannot be made. Although this argument is used, negotiation is always possible. It is important to bear in mind that there is no market consensus about sanction requirements; each bank has its own sanction policy and its own preferred wording in loan agreements. The standard sanction wording of the bank acting as documentation agent is often used as a starting point when drafting sanction wording. Other lenders in the syndicated or clubbed transaction may subsequently add additional requirements to comply with their internal procedures. Sanction clauses therefore may include duplicate requirements and could be rather restrictive for the borrower. However, if the suggested wording is jeopardising business opportunities or is too burdensome for the borrower, even companies with limited negotiating power can negotiate the sanction clauses to become more workable.

Sanction clauses and LMA

The Loan Market Organisation (‘LMA’) has not published recommended sanction provisions in any of its forms of facility agreement. In 2014 the LMA recommended in its Guidance Note to consider to include a representation that the borrower is not a target of sanctions and an undertaking to provide lenders with comfort that the proceeds of the loan will not be used in any way which would violate any applicable sanctions regime. The LMA states that the precise wording of any such representation and undertaking will depend on the transaction, the parties involved and the sanctions regime(s) that the parties wish to address. Unfortunately, these days many lenders incorporate much broader sanction related clauses in all loan agreements, independent of the situation of the borrower.

Although there is no market consensus about sanction wording in loan agreements, there are many similarities between the sanction wording required by lenders. Sanction wording is generally included in the following (LMA) sections of the loan agreement: definitions, representations, general covenants, information covenants and event of default. When negotiating sanction wording the following elements may need to be negotiated: applicable sanctions, scope of compliance, sanctioned person, sanction investigation, use of loans, use of bank accounts, compliance procedures, materiality and consequence of breach of sanction obligations. In the paragraphs below each of these topics will be addressed.

The full article can be read on the website of Solusius Treasury Lawyers.

Maarten Steyerberg – Founder and Senior Legal Counsel Solusius

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Bank Relationship Management solutions by Vallstein

| 6-11-2018 | Vallstein | treasuryXL |

Vallstein is the leading provider of Bank Relationship Management (BRM) solutions with a simple mission: no more black box but instead provide the full transparency that enables development of long term sustainable banking relationships.

Founded in 2000, Vallstein has a multinational team of experts dedicated to developing and implementing cutting edge financial technology solutions to help corporations constantly improve their BRM.

Having calculated and analyzed thousands of Wallets over 18 years, Vallstein brings together a unique combination of big data, innovation, analytical capabilities and banking knowledge. This provides the best practice in the optimization of bank relationships.

Bank Relationship Management

BRM is nowadays an integral part of sound financial management, just like finance and liquidity planning.

The fundamental benefit of professional BRM is to reduce uncertainty and inefficiency. Independent and objective insight into the relevance of each bank relationship is essential to make informed, fact-based decisions on the selection of banks or other providers of financial services, and allocation of banking transactions volumes to individual banks.

Pro-active management of bank relationships mandates being a level player, understanding the core principles of the Basel Rules that drive bank behavior and being able to assess accurately the implications for each individual bank relationship.

WalletSizing®

No more black box. Transparency in terms of how much banking revenues a corporate client generates for the bank(s) and how profitable this revenue actually is for the bank. Welcome to WalletSizing® – the best practice in BRM.

Vallstein software solutions enable ongoing monitoring, reporting and reconciliation of banking costs, ensuring embedded pro-active control and compliance with a company‘s banking policies. The WalletSizing® system provides a complete data view and in-depth analysis on all banking relationships.

This insight is essential in order to be able to achieve constructive optimization of a banking landscape and establish a true win-win for you and your banks, in which the banks will benefit from relationships that are based on stable, transparent and strategic partnerships with a fair, but not excessive, return.

The depth and quality of a WalletSizing® approach is fundamentally more comprehensive than an analysis that is just based on assessing banking costs and fees and awarded transaction volumes only. Taking into account hidden revenues and associated capital requirements under the applicable Basel Rules, across all banking products and services used, and including relevant Wallet-benchmarks in the analysis is what truly differentiates WalletSizing® from more traditional treasury consulting or spreadsheet-based comparison of bank conditions.

Winner best BRM Solutions 2018 global

The CFI.co judging panel declared Vallstein winner of the 2018 Best Bank Relationship Management Solutions Global Award.

For more information about the solutions Vallstein offers you can contact Salco Herschberg at [email protected] or visit their website.

 

Salco Herschberg – Country Head at Vallstein 

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In 8 stappen naar een optimale financiering van uw onderneming

| 15-10-2018 | ICC Consultants | treasuryXL |

In 8 stappen naar een optimale financiering van uw onderneming Heeft u extra financieringsruimte nodig voor uw investeringsplannen? Sluit uw huidige financiering niet (meer) goed aan bij de strategie van uw onderneming? Bespreekt u binnenkort uw financieringsvoorwaarden met uw bank? Zorg dat u van tevoren weet welke financieringsstructuur het beste past, hoeveel u maximaal kunt lenen en waar uw onderhandelingsruimte ligt. U bespaart tijd en geld en behaalt een veel beter resultaat. Lees hoe u dit aanpakt.

1 BEPAAL RISICOPROFIEL EN RATING

Uw risicoprofiel bepaalt hoe de bank naar uw bedrijf kijkt en hoeveel kapitaal moet worden aangehouden. Hoe lager uw risicoprofiel, hoe beter uw onderhandelingspositie. Als u van uw bank geen inzicht krijgt in uw risicoprofiel dan kunt u ook een onafhankelijke PD rating (‘Probability of Default’) laten uitvoeren door ICC Consultants.

2 BEREKEN DE BANCAIRE INKOMSTEN

Tegenover het aanhouden van kapitaal dienen voor de bank inkomsten te staan. Weet welk rendement uw bank op u maakt. Zet alle inkomsten voor de bank op een rij. Denk ook aan de inkomsten uit rentederivaten (vaak hoog!), betalingsverkeer, vreemde valutatransacties, etc. Check of deze inkomsten voldoen aan de rendementsdoelstellingen van de bank.

3 KIES UW FINANCIERINGSSTRUCTUUR

Bedenk welke financiering uw ondernemingsstrategie het beste ondersteunt. Wilt u snel kunnen groeien? Zoek dan naar een structuur die u maximale ruimte en flexibiliteit biedt. Wilt u een maximaal rendement of gaat u voor cost-leadership? Stuur dan op de laagste kosten. Wilt u minder risico lopen? Ga voor een financiering met lang commitment en minder strak gestelde ratio’s. Het is geen keuze voor het één of het ander, maar alle voordelen in één financiering kan ook niet. Wel zijn allerlei combinatievormen mogelijk.

4 BEPAAL UW BANKSTRATEGIE

Blijft u bij uw huisbank? Of kijkt u verder? In de regel kan een herfinanciering bij de huisbank wat sneller, maar krijgt u zonder concurrentie niet de beste voorwaarden. Nieuwe financiers geven u nieuwe inzichten en gaan verder om u als klant binnen te halen. Betreft het een (her)financiering groter dan 40- 50 miljoen euro dan komt u al snel uit bij een clubdeal met twee (of meer) banken. Juist dan is een goede strategie belangrijk.

5 STAP IN ‘THE DRIVERS SEAT’

Vraag de bank(en) niet zo maar om een kredietvoorstel, maar geef duidelijk aan hoe u het wilt hebben. Maak een op bancaire leest geschoeide en realistische termsheet en stuur alle relevante cijfers mee. Een complete aanvraag bespoedigt het proces aanzienlijk. Bedenk van te voren hoe u uw onderneming gaat presenteren (dat is anders dan aan klanten, prospects of investeerders!)

6 VERGELIJK EN ONDERHANDEL

U gaat van indicatieve termsheets (ITS) naar committed termsheets (CTS) en er zullen banken moeten afvallen. Kies niet alleen op gevoel of op de scherpste kredietmarge, maar beoordeel steeds het totaalplaatje. Elke bank zal zijn eigen inbreng proberen te geven aan de structuur en voorwaarden. Dit geeft u nieuwe waardevolle inzichten. Zet alle voor- stellen overzichtelijk op een rij om een goede vergelijking te kunnen maken.

7 ONDERSCHAT DOCUMENTATIE NIET

Heeft u uw financier(s) gekozen dan gaat u omvangrijke kredietdocumentatie ontvangen. Ook hier geldt; ‘The devil is in the details’. Zeker bij Engelstalige LMA documentatie kunt u naar onze mening niet zonder specialisten. Let op clausules die u verplichten uw renterisico af te dekken. We zien vaak dat de bank een scherpe financiering ‘compenseert’ door u een renteswap te verkopen tegen veel te hoge bankmarges.

8 CHECK MINIMAAL ÉÉN KEER PER JAAR

U sluit een financieringsovereenkomst voor enige jaren. In die periode verandert uw bedrijf, uw performance, uw bank en ook de financieringsmarkt. Dit heeft impact op uw rating en ook op uw financieringsmogelijkheden. Gaat het goed met uw onderneming, dan kunt u tussentijds zaken verbeteren. Gaat het minder dan verwacht, dan is de juiste communicatie van belang.

Wat kan ICC voor u betekenen?

U wilt ruimte om te ondernemen. Een goed passende financiering met scherpe voorwaarden en een goede relatie met uw bank helpt daarbij. Met onze ervaring, systemen, rating modellen en actuele benchmarks kunnen we samen met u de best mogelijke financiering realiseren. Gewoon bij uw huisbank of indien gewenst bij alternatieve financiers. Heeft u vragen over uw financiering? Wilt u inzicht in uw risicoprofiel en rating? Neem contact op voor een vrijblijvende kennismaking met onze financierings-specialisten op 030- 8201221 of mail ons voor een afspraak via [email protected].

Arian Ververs – Managing Director at ICC Consultants

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How to prepare for the Treasurer Test

| 1-11-2018 | by treasuryXL |

We recommend to make the test in a quiet room where you will not be disturbed. Don’t be afraid when you can’t complete all questions. There are more questions than you can answer in the time that’s available. If you don’t know the answer on a question, move on to the next. There are several things that will be measured such as speed, productivity and accuracy.

Technical Treasury Knowledge part
Complex calculations have to be made. We advise to have a scientific calculator at hand and a pen and paper to take notes.

Personality Profile part
There is no right or wrong. This section consists of statements in which you must indicate whether or not this applies to you.

Here is a short summary of preparation advice that will help you in advance of making the Treasurer Test:

  • Take the test in a quiet room where you will not be disturbed
  • Make sure you have a scientific calculator, pen and paper at hand
  • You need to finish the Technical Treasury Knowledge part in one time. Same counts for the Personality Profile part. However, you can take a rest between these two different test parts.
  • Move on to the next question when you don’t know the answer. You have limited time (this only counts for the Technical Knowledge part).
  • The test is intensive, take this into account

Roy Baaten – Community Manager at TreasuryXL

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INFORMATION EVENING TREASURY MANAGEMENT & CORPORATE FINANCE

| 26-10-2018 | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |

On Thursday 15 November 2018 the Information Evening for the Postgraduate programs, including the Treasury Management & Corporate Finance program, will take place at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Anyone interested in this program is welcome to get an impression and to get to know the people involved.

You are welcome as of 18.00 hours. The program for Treasury Management & Corporate Financestarts at 20.30 hours. Afterwards there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

We herewith kindly request you to inform potential candidates in your office and/or your network, about this meeting.

Program Information Evening 15 November 2018:

18.00 hrs. Walk in with coffee / tea and sandwiches
18.30 hrs. Investment Management
19.30 hrs. Risk Management for Financial Institutions
20.30 hrs. Treasury Management & Corporate Finance

Location

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam
Room Agora  (main building, 3rd floor)

VU Accessibility

Registration and information

Myrthe Scholze
020-598 2171
[email protected]
https://ee.sbe.vu.nl/nl/over-vu-executive-education/voorlichtingsdagen/index.aspx

Sincerely,

Herbert Rijken and Robert Dekker

Instimatch Global digitaliseert geldmarkt met online network

| 25-10-2018 | by Instimatch Global | treasuryXL

De geldmarkt geldt als één van de laatste bastions binnen de financiële sector waar transacties nog grotendeels via de telefoon worden afgesloten. Hierdoor limiteert de handel zich vaak tot bepaalde landsgrenzen en wordt de efficiency beperkt.

Via een nieuw online platform digitaliseert Instimatch Global de handel in geldmarktproducten en vergroot daarmee de mogelijkheden voor klanten om liquiditeit te vinden-, dan wel uit te zetten, met een efficiëntere prijsvorming- en executie als gevolg.

Het hoofdkantoor van Instimatch Global bevindt zich in Zwitserland (Zürich) en na een eerste uitbreiding naar Duitsland, is onlangs ook een vestiging in Amsterdam geopend. De opening van een vestiging in Londen wordt op korte termijn voorzien.

Instimatch Global is opgericht als reactie op de financiële crisis van 2008, waarna het idee ontstond om een platform/network te creëren waarop een grote groep van diverse institutionele partijen, variërend van o.a. corporate treasuries, bank treasuries, verzekeraars e.a., onderling kunnen handelen om zodoende een efficiëntere allocatie van liquiditeit te bewerkstelligen.

Het direct bij elkaar brengen van zo veel mogelijk verschillende tegenpartijen op één scherm, waarbij de gebruikers een “live” en handelbaar overzicht van de markt te zien krijgen, creëert de mogelijkheid voor een krappere bid/offer spread, terwijl door de digitale executie de transactiekosten lager zijn vergeleken met de huidige manier van handelen via de telefoon.

Voor meer informatie kunt u contact opnemen met Instimatch Global.

Instimatch Global zal ook aanwezig zijn bij de DACT Treasurybeurs op 16 November aanstaande in Noordwijkerhout.

Instimatch Global AG Herengracht 282; 1016BX; Amsterdam.
T: 0031 (0)20 521 9325; E: [email protected]; W: www.instimatch.com


Roel Schuring – Head of Sales Benelux at Instimatch Global

 

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Preview of the Treasurer Test report

| 23-10-2018 | by treasuryXL |

We are thrilled to show you the first preview of the results report in below example. Each candidate that completes the test will receive this report.

 

Roy Baaten – Community Manager & Business Developer at TreasuryXL

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Digital Guarantee Management: Move from tedious paperwork to electronic process management

| 22-10-2018 |  TIPCO 

“Three hundred and seventy-five thousand and thirty-three Swiss francs”. If you are involved in guarantee management, you’ll know that it is often still necessary to write guarantee volumes in words. Besides this, treasurers also spend lots of time dealing with complex requests, ticking numerous boxes correctly and accurately transferring addresses. The margin of error is zero.

Guarantee management is a specialist area where details really matter, and where a well-trained eye, top levels of concentration and lots of hard work are preconditions. At corporate groups, this often involves many subsidiaries and therefore numerous players and parties.

When a subsidiary needs a guarantee, it often takes several days and no-end of coordination until the bank guarantee is finally available. During these tedious coordination processes, it is often necessary for a colleague to pick up the phone after the fifth email and personally ask about the guarantee – but that doesn’t make things any more efficient. Double data entries are not rare, cost everyone involved lots of time and increase the error rate. And, if high volumes require several approval steps, then compliance checks and even more patience are necessary.

The objective: Less paper, more speed

Imagine you could do away with this paper chase and digitalise your guarantee management as far as possible. Starting with the request for a guarantee, on to the approvals process and distribution, all the way to issuing the associated documents. Paper-based applications which are circulated within the group and later forwarded to the bank by fax, email or post, would then be a thing of the past.

That is all possible with a digitalised process and tailor-made workflow management: Reduce your processing times, forget tedious typing work and have more time for performing analyses. The following case study highlights what this could look like in practice.

The full article can be read on the website of TIPCO treasury.

 

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Blockchain versus GDPR and who should adjust most

| 18-10-2018 | Carlo de Meijer | treasuryXL

It has now been more than four months since the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (hereafter GDPR) came into effect. This regulation aims to strengthen privacy and personal data protection in the EU, by giving private persons more control over their personal data. But it also offer a uniform set of regulations for businesses with customers in the EU region, with the risk of hefty fines in case of non-compliance.

This event however has caused a lot of concerns in the blockchain industry. At first glance some GDPR provisions seem in direct conflict with the fundamentals of blockchain technology, and may even be intrinsically incompatible with what the new European privacy rules seek to uphold. For blockchain the most controversial GDPR mandate is the “Right to be Forgotten”, giving individuals the right to request that their personal data be removed from a record. Because of its decentralised character with immutable blockchains, data however cannot be deleted. Blockchains are designed to last forever. That puts blockchain in direct opposition to the GDPR.

Main question is: Are there ways to be found so that GDPR and blockchain may co-exist? Can blockchain work properly in tandem with the new GDPR regulations without harming its fundamentals? And how should regulators react?

EU General Data protection Regulation (GDPR): what does it mandate?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a far-reaching privacy legislation that is designed to enhance the protection of personal data and give individuals in the EU greater control over their own data. The GDPR is requiring not only transparency into what companies will do with consumer data, but also mandating clear consent mechanisms to ensure that consumers understand what companies are sharing, with whom, and for what purpose. GDPR thereby regulates the collection, processing, transfer and retention of every EU citizen’s personal data, requiring companies to provide visibility and control to individuals, on demand. Non-compliance with GDPR can result in heavy fines.

GDPR however has a number of key provisions that could heavily impact blockchain.

Read the full article of our expert Carlo de Meijer on LinkedIn

 

Carlo de Meijer

Economist and researcher