treasuryXL announces partnership with EcomStream to strengthen dissemination of the latest trends for payments solutions and checkout flows

16-06-2021 | treasuryXL | EcomStream |

VENLO, The Netherlands, June 16, 2021 – treasuryXL, the community platform for everyone who is professionally active in the world of treasury, and EcomStream in the Netherlands, an independent consultancy that is specialized in optimization of online, omnichannel and marketplace payment solutions, and optimization of checkout flows, today announced the signature of a premium partnership.

As a marketplace, treasuryXL will offer EcomStream market commentary and insight to its audience. Offering a continuous flow of relevant treasury content, making treasury knowledge available, results in treasuryXL being the obvious go-to platform for its’ audience.

This partnership includes:

  • collaboration on messaging, content production, and visibility
  • mutual distribution on select items of interest
  • collaboration on larger themes: event promotion and speaking, and industry expert contributions and publication

treasuryXL and EcomStream strive for a fruitful partnership where its’ audience are top of mind making sure that (potential) clients are always up to date with the latest news and events in their field, benefit from a comprehensive range of innovative solutions, services and expertise.

About treasuryXL

treasuryXL started in 2016 as a community platform for everyone who is active in the world of treasury. Their extensive and highly qualified network consists out of experienced and aspiring treasurers. treasuryXL keeps their network updated with daily news, events and the latest treasury vacancies.

treasuryXL brings the treasury function to a higher level, both for the inner circle: corporate treasurers, bankers & consultants, as well as others that might benefit: CFO’s, business owners, other people from the CFO Team and educators.

treasuryXL offers:

  • professionals the chance to publish their expertise, opinions, success stories, distribute these and stimulate dialogue.
  • a labour market platform by creating an overview of vacancies, events and treasury education.
  • a variety of consultancy services in collaboration with qualified treasurers.
  • a broad network of highly valued partners and experts.

About EcomStream

EcomStream is an independent consultancy and is specialized in optimization of online, omnichannel and marketplace payment solutions, and optimization of checkout flows.

The goal is to achieve much lower costs for you while creating a much better customer experience for your customers.

Thanks to its lean organisational model, EcomStream will help you to reduce the cost of ownership of your payment solution and to improve your ROI, fast.

www.ecomstream.nl

Nomentia Cash Management Release Info Event

| 15-06-2021 | treasuryXL | Nomentia |

Welcome to the Nomentia 2021 first release information event this year to hear and see the top new features and updates of the Cash Management solution.

The webinar is on June 22nd 15:00 CET / 16:00 EET with a duration of 45 minuten. As we are updating the solution frequently, we will invite you to our biannual release information events so that you can stay up to date with the latest releases. In this session, we will introduce the best picks of the new features from all Nomentia Cash Management modules.

In the webinar, we will cover the following areas:

At the end of the webinar, you will have the opportunity to ask questions.

The webinar will also be recorded and we will send it to you shortly after the webinar has ended.

REGISTER NOW

 

Meet the speakers

Jaakko Kilpinen

VP of Product and Solutions, Nomentia

Jaakko has over 20 years of experience in corporate cash management and has deep expertise in cash forecasting, netting, and In-House banking. Jaakko has previously held e.g. a position as Group Treasurer in a publicly listed Finnish company.

Pamela Quiroga Badani

Solution Manager

Pamela is a finance and accounting professional. Previously, Pamela worked as a Finance Analyst and for the past four years, she has been working with implementations in consultant and project management roles.

About Nomentia

Nomentia is a Nordic powerhouse for global cash management. We believe in a world in which businesses can make the right decisions no matter how unpredictable the times are. Our SaaS-based platform offers solutions for cash forecasting and visibility, global payments with bank connectivity, reconciliation, in-house banking, guarantees, and FX dealing. We serve 2,300+ clients in over 100 countries processing more than 200 billion euros annually. Cash is king!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Currencies | Not Ready for Corporate Treasury

15-06-2021 | treasuryXL | Kyriba |

Bitcoin and several cryptocurrencies dropped more than $1 trillion in market value, forcing influencers and investors to walk back their advice on using private digital currencies as a reliable store of value. Kyriba’s Wolfgang Koester discussed what was driving this cryptocurrency volatility with Maria Bartiromo’s “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business Network on May 24th. “We’re seeing increased rhetoric from the Chinese around a Central Bank Digital Currency and the United States are developing their own digital currency,” said Koester.

Big price swings for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most recently Dogecoin are nothing new. CFOs and Treasurers have always had little appetite for cryptocurrencies, which is why examples like Tesla investing over $1 Billion USD in Bitcoin made such waves in finance circles. And while Tesla reported a quarterly net income boost of over $100 Million USD on their Bitcoin holdings, their social media savvy CEO has since suggested they will move on from their investment. This reinforces for many why cryptocurrencies are a blip on the radar screen and a bad idea for corporations to be involved with. But…are cryptos really that bad for corporates?

First, it’s more a matter of being “not ready” than bad. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin behave like commodities due to their limited supply; the price volatility is fully explained by the supply/demand imbalance. For example, there is a hard cap of 21 Million Bitcoins and these days there is a lot of demand for Bitcoin! Demand for Bitcoin and other cryptos is driven by everything from social media to a fear of missing out (FOMO) that we are similarly seeing play out in other markets, such as residential real estate or in many tech stocks. Corporates, on the other hand, shy away from volatile assets as they require liquidity for their investments and cryptocurrencies just aren’t there yet. Selling several hundred million (or more) dollars worth of bitcoin or ethereum is a market moving transaction and is difficult to manage through the digital wallets and exchanges that are generally more designed for individuals. So, between the liquidity barriers and the unstable values, corporates still can’t rely on privately issued altcoins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and others until these challenges are overcome.

State-sponsored digital currencies potentially have something to offer, however. As Kyriba’s Wolfgang Koester discussed on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria”, China has made significant advancements in the rollout of the digital yuan, which has further prompted other nation states to accelerate their own digital currency programs. In theory, government-backed digital currencies are expected to offer a striking advantage over the privately issued cryptocurrencies – and that is utility. To have utility, the digital currency must be widely accessible – and be fast and secure. And this is where the Bitcoins of the world are not ready for mainstream use. They aren’t widely accessible, the blockchain “networks” supporting them remain unproven for high transaction volumes, and the value is uncertain and could easily change between the time a seller accepts a cryptocurrency and when they choose to use or exchange them.

Of course there are solutions to each of these individual problems – e.g. the use of stable coins (that are pegged to the price of a fiat currency) instead of altcoins. But each of the requirements – value, liquidity, utility, transactability – must all be met before corporates can expect to safely use crypto/digital currencies on a daily basis. This doesn’t preclude organizations wading into the cryptocurrency landscape as a means of reaching new markets or differentiating against competitors. In fact, more and more online retailers and marketplaces are accepting cryptocurrencies for payment. You can even buy a Tesla with bitcoins. Yet when it comes to corporate treasury and finance teams, they are converting holdings to fiat currencies as quickly as possible so they can still meet cash forecast projections and free cash flow targets. State-sponsored digital currencies may well offer a lifeline to transform digital currencies for mainstream use – or maybe privately issued cryptocurrencies will still rise to the opportunity – and when that day comes it will be fascinating for daily cash management nevermind cross-border payments, global cash pooling, and multilateral netting. I think all of us in treasury look forward to that!

treasuryXL announces partnership with GTreasury to strengthen dissemination of the latest corporate treasury trends, best practices, and industry analysis

14-6-2021 | treasuryXL | Gtreasury |

VENLO, The Netherlands, June 14, 2021 – treasuryXL, the community platform for everyone who is professionally active in the world of treasury, and GTreasury in the USA, the leading platform provider of integrated treasury and risk management for the twenty-first century treasurer, today announced the signature of a premium partnership.

The partnership brings a new knowledge stream to the treasuryXL community, offering treasurers a continuous flow of in-depth and timely content to help them do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. This partnership includes:

  • collaboration on messaging, content production, and visibility
  • mutual distribution on select items of interest
  • collaboration on larger themes: event promotion and speaking, and industry expert contributions and publication

Treasury management is currently experiencing a revolution as digital transformation accelerates globally and across industries. With this partnership, treasuryXL and GTreasury are striving to make sure that treasurers are always up to date with the latest news, best practices, and events in their field.

About treasuryXL

treasuryXL started in 2016 as a community platform for everyone who is active in the world of treasury. Their extensive and highly qualified network consists out of experienced and aspiring treasurers. treasuryXL keeps their network updated with daily news, events and the latest treasury vacancies.

treasuryXL brings the treasury function to a higher level, both for the inner circle: corporate treasurers, bankers & consultants, as well as others that might benefit: CFO’s, business owners, other people from the CFO Team and educators.

treasuryXL offers:

  • professionals the chance to publish their expertise, opinions, success stories, distribute these and stimulate dialogue.
  • a labour market platform by creating an overview of vacancies, events and treasury education.
  • a variety of consultancy services in collaboration with qualified treasurers.
  • a broad network of highly valued partners and experts.

About GTreasury

For more than 30 years, GTreasury has delivered the leading digital Treasury and Risk Management System (TRMS) to corporate treasurers across industries. With its continually innovating Software-as-a-Service platform, GTreasury provides customers with a single source of truth for all their cash, payments, and risk activities. The TRMS solution offers any combination of Cash Management, Payments, Financial Instruments, Risk Management, Accounting, Banking, and Hedge Accounting – seamlessly integrated, on-demand worldwide and fully secured. Headquartered in Chicago with offices serving EMEA (London) and APAC (Sydney and Manila), GTreasury’s global community includes more than 800 customers and 30+ industries reaching 160+ countries worldwide.

www.gtreasury.com

Enterprise Payment Optimization (EPO) is the key to improving information availability, cash visibility and liquidity management

11-06-2021 | TIS |

Data Silos restrict the flow of information

One of the challenges for global enterprises, is that many areas or departments have become data silos, full of key information that is truncated and not being shared. These data “pockets” reduce information visibility and prevent optimization of processes for the company as a whole. Senior management has a vision and a strategy; however, an information feedback loop cannot function effectively or efficiently if there is a lack of organizational transparency.

The right technology platform supports end-to-end data visibility and accessibility

To achieve “perfect,” end-to-end organizational visibility for payments and payments information would mean a standardization, concentration and centralization of systems, processes, (banking) partners and even locations. That is neither possible nor practical.

“Given the often-fragmented ERP and systems landscape, a holistic view of payments information via a hub is the only realistic way to gain a consolidated view, a single source of truth across all corporate departments, subsidiaries, and geographies,” remarks Jörg Wiemer, CSO and TIS Co-Founder.

Companies can achieve many of the desired benefits of end-to-end visibility by using an Enterprise Payments Optimization Platform (EPOP).

The TIS Enterprise Payments Optimization Platform functions as a global, multi-functional ecosystem

 The TIS Enterprise Payments Optimization Platform is a global, multi-channel, multi-bank connectivity ecosystem. The platform supports a solid foundation for connectivity to ERPs, TMSs, HR and other payment input systems as well as financial institutions. Data is uploaded from ERPs etc. through plug-ins or agents and passed on through the TIS platform to banks. The platform provides connectivity by creating and maintaining formats (host-to-host, EBICs, and other local “flavors”) and partnerships (e.g., SWIFT). The EPOP streamlines and automates the processing of a company’s payments, removing complexity while adding an array of additional benefits.

Enterprise Payment Optimization is key to having the right kind of data available

“The ability to actively use payments’ data is key for better decision making throughout the organization. The finance function has a very valuable commodity at their fingertips in the form of information stored on the EPO platform,“ says Erik Masing, CEO.

This data is the basis for managing cash, monitoring liquidity, engaging in cash forecasting, as well as supporting the information needs of treasury, finance, risk, compliance, and the CFO. This information can also benefit procurement, for example, during negotiations of contract terms and conditions. With full information, the importance of suppliers can be measured through the relative spend across the entire company. Managers can make better and more informed decisions by using business intelligence and data analytics, impacting both the top and the bottom line.

Bank Account Management (BAM) puts treasury in charge of its banking relationships globally

For the finance function, a clean master data repository is essential to manage hundreds (if not thousands) of bank accounts across various subsidiaries and geographies. Corporate treasury can store the organization’s global bank account data in the EPOP’s bank account management (BAM) module. During regular operations, the activity of every listed user is tracked and traced through an immutable audit log that helps to avoid unauthorized actors abusing the system’s controls. There is also a processing function that scans all user permissions within the platform. If any irregular configurations are identified (e.g., a user having the ability to review and approve his own payments), the system will generate an alert and flag the user. BAM can become a successful collaboration between headquarters and departments as well as subsidiaries, orchestrated by a governance process. If the company has stored its data in a TMS, downloading the master data can be done in a matter of seconds.

Clients deserve tailored solutions that meet their requirements

The TIS vision is that their clients can operate in an open, innovative, and multi-tenant ecosystem, accessing a rich array of platform-based products and services. This new, game-changing world is not accessible if you are inflexible and locked-in by a TMS. Clients need a place where all stakeholders can collaborate and exchange information. TMS suites have historically grown into what they are today i.e., an aggregation of solutions attached to a central structure. A TMS covers many different disciplines, however, it usually offers too much, or too little i.e., not a tailored solution or the “right” fit. If a customer wants to optimize their payment process and use this information to support cash forecasting only, why should it implement a full TMS “monolith”.

Flexibility, innovation and collaboration become the new normal

By helping to break down the silos created by company-centric and e.g., bank-proprietary applications, an open, innovative, and cloud-based architecture lays the foundation for “best-of-breed” solutions.

“Access to company-wide, real-time data via a scalable and versatile platform gives decision makers additional possibilities to analyze data and to collaborate,” states Erol Bozak, CPO and TIS Co-Founder.

It also provides the basis for entities to take advantage of a wide range of best-of-breed products.  Value-added-services such as cash forecasting or FX / Hedging etc. are available. Innovative platforms such as the TIS Enterprise Payments Optimization Platform acts as ecosystems, making the products and services from specialized vendors available using a single sign-on. It also allows platform participants and partners to work to together sharing information in order to reduce the risk of fraud using products such as Payee Community Screening (PCS).

In summary

Ten years ago, cloud was in its infancy and Treasury Intelligence Solutions became an early adopter and a leader in SaaS. TIS believes that cloud-based, open ecosystems that support best-of-breed applications enabled by APIs, will become the new normal.  Enterprise payment optimization remains key to improving information availability, cash visibility and liquidity management. The Enterprise Payments Optimization Platform is the bridge that closes the gaps between internal as well as external functions, partners, and peers.

Visit tis.biz and find out more about the TIS Enterprise Payment Optimization Platform.

About TIS

TIS is reimagining the world of enterprise payments through a cloud-based platform uniquely designed to help global organizations optimize outbound payments. Corporations, banks and business vendors leverage TIS to transform how they connect global accounts, collaborate on payment processes, execute outbound payments, analyze cash flow and compliance data, and improve critical outbound payment functions. The TIS corporate payments technology platform helps businesses improve operational efficiency, lower risk, manage liquidity, gain strategic advantage – and ultimately achieve enterprise payment optimization.

Visit tis.biz to reimagine your approach to payments.

 

Payment Fraud | A 750 000 euro Financial Scam that could happen even to you

| 02-06-2021 | treasuryXL | Nomentia |

Have you read the recent news on how Bol.com deposited almost 750 000 euros into a fraudulent bank account over a year ago? Simply, they thought they were making a payment to Brabantia, a household goods manufacturer. If you are not familiar with the story, here is it in a nutshell:

At the same time, Brabantia did not receive the payment, so obviously, they took a lawsuit to the court. And that was the point when the court discovered that Bol fell for a financial scam.

It all started with a legit-looking email like usually

In November 2019, Bol received an email in poorly written Dutch. Nevertheless, the email looked legit like it has been sent from Brabantia including the company’s logo. They were asking Bol.com to transfer the outstanding payment to an account in Spain.

The Bol employees fell for the trick. No surprises there, as these emails can be very well-crafted and if you have never seen one before, you could become a victim too.

The court thought the scam email was obvious and easy to recognize 

Bol tried to get out of paying Brabantia claiming that the company’s employee fell for a business email compromise, and they were accused that they did not use two-factor authentication in the Microsoft 0365 environment. The story doesn’t tell if the email was really sent from Barbantia using a stolen username and password but hopefully, it still makes you want to protect your accounts with multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Despite this, the court ruled in the favor of Brabantia and ordered Bol to pay the outstanding payment. The reasons for it were the following:

  •  The court believed the email was clearly a phishing email due to grammar errors. Previously, all communication between the two companies happened in Dutch, while the scam email was written in mixed Dutch and English.
  • The court thought that Bol should have been suspicious about the odd request to transfer money to a Spanish bank.

How to avoid something like this happening to you? 

There are a few tips that you should always remember.

  1. Always be suspicious: Always be suspicious, especially, when you are handling large payments. If you have the slightest doubt about the legitimacy of the request, something is probably wrong.
  2. Never accept a payment alone: In this case, always ask for help! Never send out payment before at least you had a second pair of eyes looking at it. In most companies, that’s an everyday process.
  3. If you are in doubt, ask for help: Still, if there is even one person that is a tiny bit unsure, don’t process the payment. Ask for more help within your treasury or financial department, procurement, or even from your cybersecurity department. Your cybersecurity team will be able to tell with high likelihood whether the email is real or not.
  4. Use a payment hub: Payment hubs come with features that enhance the security of processing payments. Consider using the following: Workflows to manage authorization of different payment flows | Approval limits for different payment types | Templates to limit and control releasing of manual payments
  5. Strict processes to update supplier master data: Supplier master data should be correct in the ERP system. It should only be managed by procurement who has strict processes in place to validate the possible changes before updating master data. Always execute payments according to registered beneficiary bank account details.
  6. Don’t skip the CyberSecurity and phishing training: While you may think it’s easy to spot phishing emails, it’s not. Especially when we are talking about financial scams. Spear phishing is a growing business and it’s expected to grow to 1,4 billion US dollars by 2022. Scammers can work even two weeks on crafting an exceptional financial scam to lure in financial professionals to make a large payment. Good phishing training should be targeted for your expertise and prepare you through challenging exercises to spot potential scams. It’s always better to report an email to your security team and ask for their opinion than make a payment and regret it later.
  7. Care about security: Security is a bigger part of treasury operations than you would think. Make sure that you care about security. Things like using a strong password, updating the password frequently, using multi-factor authentication, or not sharing user rights matter and can do a lot.

When you care about security, you also show a good example to the rest of the team.

Trust your instinct and the learnings of this story and the security training

Always rather take longer to process the payment than pay a scammer! Creating good and strict payment processes and workflows can help with this. Also, trust your own and co-workers’ instinct if you feel like something is off.

Stay curious about financial scam news to know what the latest trends are and how hackers will try to trick you. Work closely with your security department! It’s in everyone’s best interest to avoid falling victim to a scam.

It’s not a question of whether you will receive financial scams and phishing emails, but when you will get them. Be prepared that you will be targeted and face the situation with confidence to avoid making a payment.

About Nomentia

Nomentia is a Nordic powerhouse for global cash management. We believe in a world in which businesses can make the right decisions no matter how unpredictable the times are. Our SaaS-based platform offers solutions for cash forecasting and visibility, global payments with bank connectivity, reconciliation, in-house banking, guarantees, and FX dealing. We serve 2,300+ clients in over 100 countries processing more than 200 billion euros annually. Cash is king!

 

 

Barbara Babati

Barbara is working in the marketing department at Nomentia. Previously, she worked in cybersecurity and data integration industries.

 

 

 

 

 

Why CFOs Should Foster Stronger Relationships with Banks

01-06-2021 | treasuryXL | Kyriba |

CFOs are the custodians of financial growth for enterprise business, and a key part of that role is to build and foster mutually beneficial relationships with banks and funding partners. Since banking relationships are built upon the provision of services; whether those are lines of credit, daylight overdrafts, bank account reporting, payments, foreign exchange or concentration / pooling structures, CFOs can and should maximise the value derived from partner financial institutions.

One of the first mistakes a CFO or finance professional can make is in selecting or expanding a relationship with a bank ill-equipped to handle the global nature of their business and geographic footprint.

For example, banking relationships have implications across borders as many strong financial institutions are partnered with local banks or their own local branches providing much needed local expertise. Navigating difficult tax and reporting requirements, local format and regulatory requirements or unique depository scenarios all call upon strong relationships with banks familiar with your localisation needs.

Automating your banking interactions and reporting with technology is an area of concern.

In this scenario, CFOs are not able to take advantage of the full range of banking services since lapses and gaps in technology solutions do not provide for straight-through processing of payments or the automatic posting of cash and transactional details from bank-provided daily bank statements. Banks have evolved their services to provide much more flexibility and sophistication with regards to intraday bank statements, high levels of detail within bank statements and the frequency of sharing this information up to 4 to 5 times per day. Without the right technology solution to handle cash and liquidity forecasting, CFOs are leaving value on the “proverbial table” in the form of lost opportunities to invest, grow the business, or mitigate risk. Meanwhile, the lack of finance and treasury tools and automation associated with technology solutions, keeps staff tied to daily, tactical tasks versus a focus on strategic support and projects.

How well do CFOs understand the full potential of their banking relationships?

CFOs must be involved in understanding the health of the banking relationship and managing, or at least receiving updates on banking scorecards and other metrics to ensure the bank relationship is being leveraged to its full potential. For instance, more than ever, banks often provide or are partners in enabling Supply Chain Financing or Discounting scenarios to help both sides of the financial supply chain achieve their objectives. CFOs, again, must leverage their banking relationships while coupling them to technology options such as a solution with Dynamic Discounting or Supply Chain Finance to maximise bank services.

Additionally, visibility to liquidity in near or real-time is a must-have for CFOs.

Liquidity planning is critical for CFOs in good times and in bad. Historical market drops have highlighted the importance of having real-time access to information about your total liquidity position, understanding what level of cash is flowing through all systems, and what level of liquidity can be allocated to invest in growth opportunities or simply pay employees. CFOs in many cases can partner with banks to develop a mutually beneficial relationship. At the end of the day, Treasurers provide the CFO with the assurance that assets are safeguarded and the organisation has the liquidity required to meet obligations and fund strategic decisions. This is only possible if they too have immediate visibility into their positions.

Finally, there is risk in having all of your eggs in one basket.

CFOs should have a backup plan – having your liquidity, services and debt instruments with one bank can prove to be risky. When financial crises strike from internal or external factors (like margin calls, bankruptcies, etc.), these financial risks are mitigated when the CFO has a back-stop and other banking partner options to keep the lights on and the supply chain flowing. Having major and minor banking relationships can help keep banks competitively working for you while giving your organization financial and liquidity options to keep operations moving.

Refinitiv Corporate Treasury Data Insights | May 2021

31-5-2021 | treasuryXL | Refinitiv |

Andrew Hollins, Director of Corporate Treasury Proposition at Refinitiv, brings you the May 2021 round-up of the latest Corporate Treasury Data Insights.

  1. The latest Refinitiv Deal Makers Survey analysed market sentiment to gauge which M&A sectors will thrive during 2021, while global banking investment fees hit new heights.
  2. A look at the markets statistics from President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, and why USD cash fallbacks form a crucial element of the LIBOR transition.
  3. Plus, news on U.S. identity theft, crude oil prices and FX market innovation, as well as a round-up in Refinitiv Corporate Treasury Newsbeat.

Corporate Treasury Chart of the Month

Our latest Deal Makers Sentiment Survey reveals two clear M&A winners emerging from the turmoil of 2020: Technology and Healthcare. Beyond these sectors, M&A optimism tails off quickly, with notable falls including Consumer Retail. On average, deal makers predict a 6 percent increase in M&A activity this year, which bodes well for corporates with access to capital.

Corporate Treasury Data Insights: Subscribe to our newsletter

Global investment banking fees set all-time record

Refinitiv’s leading fee model revealed investment banking fees reached US$39.4 billion during the first quarter of 2021, posting a 45 percent increase compared with the first quarter of 2020 and the strongest opening period since records began in 2000.

Imputed fees in the EMEA region increased 27 percent to US$8.1 billion during first quarter of 2021.

You can access these exclusive modelled fees in Eikon to benchmark against peers, or to support mandate allocation purposes. Navigate to Company Overview -> Event -> Company Deals -> [Asset Type] Equity to compare the latest deals and access detailed tear sheets.

Join our upcoming Refinitiv Academy session for deeper insight on building peer comparison models in Eikon.

Screenshot of Refinitiv Eikon – Capital Market Transactions. Corporate Treasury Data Insights May 2021
Click the image to request a free trial of Refinitiv Eikon

Biden’s first 100 days in 10 charts

U.S. President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office saw records in both M&A and capital markets, with the S&P 500 recording a stronger performance than any other president in recent history. Here are 10 charts that tell the story.

USD cash fallbacks: a key component of the LIBOR transition

With the most widely used tenors of USD LIBOR subject to cessation immediately following publication on 30 June 2023, how can fallback rates support a smooth transition in the cash markets?  We’ve also put together a guide to help you navigate the LIBOR transition.

Image promoting Refinitiv's Navigating the LIBOR transition guide. Corporate Treasury Data Insights | May 2021

New Report – U.S. Identity Theft: the Stark Reality

With an estimated 42 percent increase in identity-related losses from 2019 to 2020, coinciding with a shift towards digital payment methods during the pandemic, identity crime remains a steadfast challenge.

A new report commissioned by GIACT, a Refinitiv company, uncovers the striking pervasiveness of identity fraud perpetrated against U.S. consumers. GIACT is also hosting a free webinar this Thursday (20 May) on how you can Safeguard Faster Payments: KYC, Account Validation Compliance and Best Practices. Secure your spot!

Have crude oil prices peaked?

The market has recovered following the Coronavirus-induced collapse in prices. With the price now stable at around $60/bbl, Market Voice analyses if this is a pause for breath or a natural ceiling.

Accelerating innovation in FX markets

Refinitiv’s FX platforms reported an average daily volume of $490bn in January 2021, the second highest monthly average since reporting began. Find out how FXall gives traders greater flexibility and control over the staging and execution of their FX orders.

REPLAY: Sustainability and ESG webinar

In April, we hosted a webinar with the ACT, discussing the role treasurers should play in sustainable strategy and operations, green financing and benchmarking. You can also check-out a recent interview between Refinitiv’s Leon Saunders Calvert and Treasury Today, discussing treasury’s role in integrating financially material ESG data.

Refinitiv Corporate Treasury Newsbeat

Image promoting the Corporate Treasury Data Insights newsletter. Subscribe Now!

Successful Businesses Excel At Cash Management

18-05-2021 | treasuryXL | Nomentia |

Nomentia commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate the current state of Cash and Treasury management in large global multinationals, the challenges, and the opportunities to move forward.


Embrace future-fit Cash management

We commissioned Forrester Consulting to create a study to understand how global decision-makers will embed cash management excellence into daily operations, processes, and decision-making in 2021 and beyond.

  • Cash flow management tools | To improve visibility and forecasting, companies are adapting cash management, payment efficiency, and cash flow liquidity tools.
  • Improve cash flow visibility | Cash flow transparency, flexible reporting, and data collection can eliminate the high costs associated with the lack of cash flow visibility.
  • Automate core processes | Automating core day-to-day tasks while guaranteeing payment security brings efficiency into the high complexity of treasury operations.

83% of decision-makers at large multinational enterprises say that low Cash visibility has hidden costs 

Understand the cash flow, payment visibility, and efficiency ->  Decision-makers agree that improving data analytics, increasing cash management and payment efficiency, maximizing cash flow liquidity, and improving cash flow and finance reporting are their top priorities in 2021 and beyond.

67% say it’s challenging or very challenging to collect data on cash flow

Technology can help to enable better cash management. Treasury management solutions with analytics, security, and automation can turn treasury from a cost center to a strategic revenue-creating opportunity.

52% of business leaders are prioritizing adopting SaaS Treasury management solutions

Download Study

Learn how companies are enhancing their cash excellence to strengthen and transform cash management operations.



Partner Interview | Manipulating market-leading data to navigate volatility

11-05-2021 | treasuryXL | Refinitiv |

As a leading financial markets data provider, Refinitiv is an essential partner for corporate treasurers. Refinitiv’s global, multi-asset and multi-jurisdiction view of risk, credit and economic data enable treasury teams to drive stability by managing the global and interconnected nature of risk today.

⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

In this interview, we take a look at how Refinitiv’s corporate treasury customers used Refinitiv data and apps to remain agile and proactive in one of the most volatile years ever. We also consider what data is likely to be needed as we recover from the pandemic and companies seek growth.

An introduction to:

 

Andrew Hollins

Director of Corporate Treasury Proposition, Refinitiv, an LSEG business

 

 

 

 

Rasyid Kwee

Proposition Sales Specialist for Enterprise Solutions, Refinitiv, an LSEG business.

 

 

INTERVIEW

1. From your data, what can be identified about the behaviors and activities of corporate treasurers during the onset of the pandemic?

Using the data we have available, we’ve been able to discern three broad phases of corporate treasury response and action throughout the pandemic. The period March through to May 2020 represents Phase 1, which for many Corporates could be termed the ‘Survival Phase’. During this first phase, we witnessed pronounced patterns of activity amongst our Corporate Treasury clients.

Firstly there was a strong focus on analysing and reviewing the Credit Risk of suppliers, clients and also corporate’s own credit risk. Treasurers wanted to know if their customers would be able to pay for the goods and/or services they are supplying, and if their suppliers were still going to deliver supplies, raw materials, component parts, goods, etc.

We also saw a spike in usage of Company Fundamental Data (app for company financial analysis, for financial statements and valuation metrics for over 90,000 companies listed on 169 exchanges in 150 countries), especially so for balance sheets, income statements, key ratios and Cashflow data. Furthermore, there was an increased appetite for Private Company data, which almost certainly reflected a desire to review the health of the extended supply chain, a trend which has continued.

Finally, there was an increase in usage of Sector-specific Economic Indicator data, up 30% globally from Feb – Mar 2020 (this app allows users to search for any Economic Indicator, chart the history, export to Excel and view associated press releases). An increase was also seen in the use of Peer Analysis data (allows for the comparison of a company against its peers across a multitude of measures and variables), reflecting a demand for wider sectoral intelligence, as well as insight into how related companies were performing in such a stressed environment. Conversely, we also saw a decline in demand for ESG related apps and data, as well as data and apps relating to Libor transition. Libor transition in particular had been a high priority area for most corporate treasurers, but the economic shock brought on by Covid-19 pushed these onto the back burner during the ‘Survival Phase’.

2. What are the Data and App usage highlights from Phase 1?

  • Globally, Credit Default Swap (CDS) data usage grew 115% in EMEA and Americas between February and March 2020. Asia showed a 155% rise in usage of this data during the same period. (The CDS Dashboard app provides comprehensive Streaming price coverage on major global Index and single name CDS from major market maker).
  • In the Netherlands (February to March 2020), there was an 83% rise in usage by Corporate Treasurer’s use of credit and credit risk data, specifically;
    • 68% rise in use of Debt Structure data (both for oneself and for one’s peers)
    • 67% rise in Starmine Credit Risk data (Starmine Credit Risk models utilize industry-specific accounting ratios, equity market valuations and text mining models to produce a 1-100 score of an company’s credit risk).
  • During the same period we also saw significant increases in usage of company fundamental and private company data. At the same time there was a clear drop in consumption of ESG data.
      • 81% rise in Company Fundamental data
      • 33% rise in Private Company data
      • 45% drop in use of ESG data

  • Looking at year on year data for the Netherlands for March 2020 and March 2021, we saw a 50% rise in CDS data; 50% rise in Debt Structure Data; 66% rise in Industry sector data; 113% rise in use of peer analysis apps.
  • Furthermore;
    • Private Company Data and Analytics grew by 31% between February to March 2020, receding during the summer months but then grew >100% from October 2020 into Q1 2021.

3. As the pandemic progressed, how did the behaviors and activities of corporate treasurer’s change?

Moving on from ‘Phase 1’ (above) and heading into ‘Phase 2’, which we can place from mid Q2 through to Q3 and call the ‘Cash Phase’, many companies focused on cash preservation and extending their cashflow runway as far as possible. Companies focused on maximising all sources of liquidity, in some cases working with suppliers to extend payment schedules and expedite receivables as far as possible. Companies also drew down reserves and utilised credit facilities. We also saw Bond Issuance accelerate significantly especially in Q3.

4. What are the Data and App usage highlights from Phase 2?

In the Netherlands, from June to October 2020, we saw a notable pick-up in usage of Issuance and Credit-related data and analytics:

  • A 40% rise in usage of the New Issues Monitor – (app providing a comprehensive library of new issues covered by Thomson Reuters and supporting IFR).
  • A more than 250% jump in usage of Starmine Credit Risk analytics and data
  • A 25% rise in usage of the Fixed Income All Quotes app

At the same time, there were also further significant changes in usage of apps and data related to the financial health of the supply chain and the corporate ecosystem in general:

  • Income Statement: Up 116%
  • Balance Sheet: Up 72%%
  • Key Ratios: Up 160%
  • Cashflow: Up 175%

5. How do you see the behaviors and activities of corporate treasurers changing as we move into a recovery mode from the pandemic?

If we identify Phase 3 as the ‘Recovery Phase’, which focuses on positioning and planning for a return to normality, or at least a new normal, our usage data suggests that many companies continue to focus on bond issuance and refinancing in order to take advantage of current lower yields. It’s notable that issuance of US$ denominated debt by non-US companies has been particularly strong in the first quarter of 2021.

There are distinct trends apparent in the usage data for our issuance-related Data and Analytics apps, in particular:

  • DCM Pricer – usage is up 21% from November 2020 to March 2021 (a custom bond calculator designed to build new bond issues and price them for the primary market)
  • Debt Structure app – usage is up 20% between November 2020 and March 2021
  • New Issues Monitor – usage is up 52% from November 2020 to March 2021 (New Issues Monitor provides a comprehensive library of new issues covered by Thomson Reuters and supporting IFR).

As countries navigate out of the pandemic, we can also see that ESG is firmly back on the agenda, with usage of our ESG apps and data rising strongly as we move deeper into 2021. For much of the pandemic period many companies focused on survival, but a rapidly developing global sustainability landscape is contributing to a significant shift towards adopting and ESG standards and behaviours across the corporate sphere.

Globally, ESG Data and Analytics Usage has grown 93% between Dec 2020 and March 2021, higher than the pre-Covid-19 peak.

  • Across EMEA, this was up 78% in the same period.
  • In the Netherlands, although below the global and EMEA percentages, ESG Data and Analytics usage was still up 35% in the same period.

Looking beyond Covid-19, conversations with our corporate treasurer clients have revealed an appetite for greater visibility and predictability when it comes to cash and liquidity management. Aligned to this, is a desire for increasingly accurate forecasts and risk analysis regarding projected future cashflows. Hedge accounting and hedge effectiveness tools also feature strongly in these conversations.

Furthermore, automation to support more robust and frequent analysis and reporting, as well as a comprehensive enterprise-wide view of cashflow, risk and liquidity, are also areas of growing interest which are going to feature more in the post-pandemic landscape.

Finally, ESG data consumption has recovered and is now above pre-Covid-19 peaks. This trend is likely to continue on its upward trajectory, becoming systemically more prevalent than it was pre-pandemic, given the rapidly evolving regulatory and demand led factors which are driving an ever-greater focus on sustainability. We recently hosted an event with the Association of Corporate Treasurers on treasury ESG roles and responsibilities which you can watch on-demand here.

6. How can corporate treasurers gain access to Refinitiv’s market-leading data and navigate current and future volatility?

Serving more than 40,000 institutions in approximately 190 countries, Refinitiv provides advanced data and technology to help corporate treasury teams make critical decisions with confidence. Our corporate treasury solutions help deliver accurate and relevant data, tools and analytics that can be accessed easily and intuitively – advancing your end-to-end workflows and ensuring seamless integration with your entire treasury management eco-system.

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