Mercuria is a global energy and commodity group, operating in more than 50 countries with over 1,000 employees and offices worldwide. Read more about why Refinitiv Eikon was selected to fulfill the complex cross-asset requirements from pre-trade, trade, through to post-trade and credit screening.
Mercuria’s business lines cover a diverse range of commodities trading as well as large-scale infrastructure assets. For that reason, they searched for a cross-asset platform to manage credit, pre-trade, trade and post-trade to quickly, efficiently and accurately access global market insights, trusted market data and ‘best-of-breed’ industry analytics to help price-up derivative products.
Refinitiv Eikon platform was selected to fulfil the complex cross asset requirements from pre-trade, trade, through to post-trade and credit screening.
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Mercuria_RefinitivCustomerStories_Thumbnail.png200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-10-04 07:00:522021-10-01 09:12:54Refinitiv case study | How Mercuria manages risk across assets with a single platform
Gamification aims to increase engagement and create more loyalty through positive user experiences. Loyalty drives returning customers. It’s a loyalty risk if your checkout process is hard to complete.
The least exciting part of the online customer journey must be the checkout process, for sure. However, in a relatively simple way you can gain a lot here, limit abandoned shopping carts and drive loyalty of your visitor.
Imagine: Your customer has already chosen the product and has already agreed on the price. Isn’t it important to secure that conversion as quickly and as simply as possible?
What is the problem of a boring checkout process with all kinds of input fields? It is just not fun to do. Combine the pleasant with the useful. A gamified process is simply more pleasant to complete. With subtle adjustments, you can already achieve a lot and fortunately you do not have to reinvent the wheel yourself.
With a gamified checkout you set a goal, offer control, reward good behavior and deliver speed. By adding a gamified twist to the checkout process, you improve the necessary focus from your customer and limit the chance that he or she will be distracted and never finish the transaction again.
The checkout process is task-oriented and a number of things can be improved during this process. In the visual below you can see a number of thoughts and considerations that take place during the checkout process in the hearts and minds of your customers. By gamifying certain tasks you quite easily make checking out more pleasant. This also makes the overall customer experience just better as you remove friction.
A shopper who leaves the site even after the checkout has started? Make sure to avoid such a costly event.
A gamified checkout works. Just try it.
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.
Interested to know more about what gamification can mean for your business? I am ready to help!
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.
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/EcomStream-post.png200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-09-27 07:00:292021-09-27 14:17:13Use gamification techniques in the checkout process
International Treasury Management is the annual meeting place for 1000s of the World’s most senior treasurers to learn and share experiences in valuable peer to peer discussions. With a reputation for ground-breaking sessions and world-class speakers, our 30th anniversary event will explore the boundaries of the profession, take a glimpse into the future of business, treasury and working life as well as offer the practical case studies on the treasurer’s top agenda items.
Only one treasury event can deliver the comprehensive mix of big picture global insight and granular treasury knowledge you need to make the right choices for the future.
Back to the future, again
Over the past 30 years since EuroFinance’s inaugural conference on International Cash and Treasury Management, much has changed. Treasurers have firmly become business partners, technology experts, risk managers and opportunity spotters. They often lead fundamental change within the company as markets, business models and technology shifts.
What next? This event will delve into how treasury operations can gear up for the future, having learned the lessons from the past. Where, who, what and how will the corporate be in the coming years and what is treasury’s role?
Keynote sessions will offer big-picture insight alongside themed streams including:
Payments revisited
Risks and Rewards
Digital strategies
Practical solutions to day-to-day Treasury challenges
The power of partnership
What makes International Treasury Management the must-attend event of the year?
networking on a global scale – a significant rise in attendees in 2020 boosted the value networking with banks, providers and potential clients… all in one place
strategic insights and best practices – get solutions to the challenges you face from treasury and economic experts during keynotes, practical case studies, fireside chats, analytical panels and more
future trends – delve into the latest innovations and new technology driving change in treasury, and their practical applications
live Q&A with world-class treasurers – enjoy borderless networking and live Q&As with high-profile speakers directly after each session
cost and time-efficiency – tune in form anywhere in the world, at the click of a button with no long distance travel or accommodation costs
continued learning – catch up on any missed sessions and re-watch your highlights, on demand for up 2 months after the event
unite your international teams – as a free event, it offers an opportunity for your whole treasury team to attend. Perfect for encouraging learning and development at all levels
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/EuroFinance-2021_.jpg200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-09-22 07:00:222021-08-11 15:04:41Your Last Call | International Treasury Management Virtual Week | September 27 – October 1
The LIBOR transition: We explain what fallback rates for the USD cash markets are and provide practical insights on how these rates can be used.
Refinitiv USD IBOR Cash Fallbacks are designed to ensure existing USD LIBOR referencing products such as loans, bonds and securitisations can continue to operate post-USD LIBOR cessation.
There are two versions of the Refinitiv USD IBOR Cash Fallbacks: those for consumer products and those for institutional products.
Initially, market participants can use the prototype USD IBOR Cash Fallbacks to become more familiar with the rates and test technical connectivity.
During my previous blog on fallbacks in April 2021, I outlined the importance of introducing robust fallback rates into the USD cash markets.
There is a substantial exposure of cash instruments that have no effective means to easily transition away from LIBOR upon its cessation. New LIBOR legislation signed into State of New York law reduces the adverse economic outcomes associated with the instruments by requiring them to use the Alternative Reference Rates Committee’s (ARRC) recommended fallback language.
In March, the ARRC announced Refinitiv as publisher of its fallback rates for cash products. Since then, Refinitiv has been working with the Federal Reserve and the ARRC to finalise the design of the USD IBOR Cash Fallbacks.
Fallback rate economically equivalent to USD LIBOR
The Refinitiv USD IBOR Cash Fallbacks provide the rates described in the ARRC’s recommended fallback language.
These are composed of two components: the adjusted Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) part measures the average SOFR rate for the relevant tenor. Added to this is a spread adjustment, which measures the difference between the USD LIBOR for each tenor and SOFR compounded in arrears for that tenor.
Adding these two components together gives an all-in fallback rate that is economically equivalent to USD LIBOR.
There are two version of the Refinitiv USD IBOR Cash Fallbacks: those for consumer products and those for institutional products. Both are published to five decimal places and include the adjusted SOFR rate, the spread adjustment and the all-in rate.
Watch: Refinitiv Perspectives LIVE – The LIBOR Transition: Risk-Free Term Rates
Consumer cash fallbacks
Refinitiv USD IBOR Consumer Cash Fallbacks are designed to ensure existing USD LIBOR referencing consumer cash products such as mortgages and student loans can continue to operate post-USD LIBOR cessation.
These rates are based upon compound SOFR in advance, which means the rate is known at the start of the interest period, plus the spread adjustment.
Prior to 1 July 2023, the spread adjustment will be calculated as the median difference between USD LIBOR and SOFR compound in arrears for the previous 10 working days, resulting in the spread adjustment changing on a daily basis.
This is an indicative rate, and while it should not be used as a reference rate in financial products, it is designed to aid familiarity with the USD IBOR Consumer Cash Fallbacks prior to adoption in July 2023.
Following 30 June 2024, the spread adjustment will be calculated as the median of the historical differences between USD LIBOR for each tenor and the compounded in arrears SOFR for that tenor over a five-year period prior to 5 March 2021.
For the period between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, the spread adjustment will be calculated as the linear interpolation between the two rates outlined above.
A floored version of the consumer cash fallbacks is also available, meaning that if the average SOFR across all days in the tenor is below zero, then the all-in published fallback rate will be solely the corresponding spread adjustment.
Refinitiv USD IBOR Consumer Cash Fallbacks will be published in 1-month, 3-month and 6-month tenors.
Institutional cash fallbacks
Refinitiv USD IBOR Institutional Cash Fallbacks are designed to ensure existing USD LIBOR referencing commercial cash products such as bilateral business loans, floating rate notes, securitisations and syndicated loans can continue to operate post USD LIBOR cessation.
In order to account for different conventions in different markets, there are a number of different versions of the Refinitiv USD IBOR Institutional Cash Fallbacks. There are three different ways of capturing the average SOFR rate: SOFR compound in arrears, Simple SOFR in arrears and SOFR compound in advance.
Added to this is the spread adjustment, which is calculated as the median of the historical differences between USD LIBOR for each tenor and the compounded in arrears SOFR for that tenor over a five-year period prior to 5 March 2021.
Unlike Refinitiv USD IBOR Consumer Cash Fallbacks, there is no transition period. This means that the spread adjustment remains fixed for perpetuity.
Each of the SOFR compound in arrears and Daily Simple SOFR rates will be available in up to seven tenors in a variety of different forms in order to conform to convention in different markets.
The 3-, 5- and 10-day lookback without observation shift versions give counterparties more notice by applying the SOFR rate from three, five and ten business days prior to the rate publication date.
The 2-, 3- and 5-days lookback with an observation shift versions also give counterparties more notice by applying the SOFR rate from two, three and five business days prior to the publication date, but in contrast to a lookback without observation shift, it applies that rate for the number of calendar days associated with the rate two, three and five business days prior.
The 2- and 3-day lockout versions fix the SOFR rate for the last two and three days prior to publication.
The plain version has no lookback, observation shift, or lockout.
The SOFR compound in advance rates for institutional products will be available in 1-month, 3-month and 6-month tenors.
Initially, market participants can use the prototype USD IBOR Cash Fallbacks to become more familiar with the rates and test technical connectivity.
Following the ARRC’s recent endorsement of Term SOFR, Refinitiv plans to supplement the initial prototype with a forward-looking term rate version in due course.
During the prototype phase, we anticipate changes to the methodology based on user feedback to ensure full alignment with industry standards prior to publication of the production rates.
Production rates for the institutional cash fallbacks should be available from autumn 2021, and for the consumer cash fallbacks they will be available from July 2023.
How to access the rates
Prototype rates are now available from the Refinitiv website and through Refinitiv products including Refinitiv® Eikon, Refinitiv Real-Time and Refinitiv® DataScope.
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/LIBORTransition_Thumbnail.png200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-09-14 07:00:512023-07-05 10:19:56Transitioning from LIBOR: Explaining the cash fallback rates
Twenty billion dollars. That’s how many corporate treasurers in the U.S. are now forking over to banks in service transaction fees every year. It’s a big number and it’s growing every year. But there’s also vast potential for reducing that amount by optimizing the outlay for-fee services and becoming better-informed for price negotiations.
A recent survey from Treasury Strategies determined that 70 percent of corporate treasurers are reviewing their bank service fees on a monthly basis. However, the same survey determined that a fraction – just 21 percent of treasurers – will actually benchmark those service fees as part of their bank analysis and management. Among those treasurers who do use benchmarks, many only do so on a line-item basis, rather than at the product category level. A majority also don’t have processes to recognize the impact of volume on benchmark prices. In short, there is room – a lot of room – for opportunities to trim costs.
Accurate bank fee analysis backed by correctly applied benchmarking enables treasurers to preserve strong relationships with bank creditors as well. Too often, simplistic benchmark techniques give treasurers only a surface-level analysis of whether fees are in line with market averages. As a result, treasurers may falsely challenge their banks over small sums, while missing out on more appropriate and fruitful interventions – a ‘can’t-see-the-forest-for-the-trees’ scenario. Incomplete analysis comes with its own costs, absorbing misapplied resources and eroding creditors’ goodwill over insignificant or erroneous concerns.
Let’s look at two examples of how benchmarking, done right, can ensure treasurers’ accurate analysis and lead to optimized bank transaction costs:
Example 1: Benchmark beyond what you know
Wire transfer fees are an area in which effective benchmarking is especially ripe for opportunity. For example, suppose a treasurer’s initial internal benchmarking finds that the four banks the company uses offer rates spanning from $14 to $20. This self-benchmarking reveals the potential to move all wire transfer fees to the $14 rate. However, expanding benchmark horizons to the market at large makes clear that all the banks are charging fees well above the median.
There is no shortage of potential reasons for this, which should be investigated. The company could potentially reduce fees by using a bank portal, streamlining Fedwire, SWIFT, or CHIPS costs, opting for digitized communications, and beyond. Importantly, though, a small cost on each wire can quickly add up to significant savings. By benchmarking these fees at a more expansive scope, those savings can be found, pursued, and realized.
Example 2: True treasury management services costs are multi-dimensional
Take a hypothetical corporate treasurer examining lockbox item processing fees at two different banks. Bank X charges $0.30 per item; Bank Y charges $0.50. The treasurer’s organization directs 500 items to Bank X each month, and 5000 to Bank Y. On the surface, the treasurer’s analysis is simple: Bank Y is overly expensive and should be challenged.
A deeper and more holistic analysis, however, clarifies a more accurate picture. Factoring in bundled remittance processing services – such as monthly lockbox maintenance, daily deposit ticket charges, image and hardcopy fees, and courier fees – rewrites the story. Now it’s clear that Bank X provides a per item rate of $4.00, but Bank Y is just $3.00. The more simplistic cost benchmark analysis missed this crucial information.
That said, the analysis must also consider that volume is crucial to accuracy. Bank fees often vary by volume. Checking Bank X’s $4.00 per item rate against the market, the median benchmark price for a volume of 500 items a month is actually $5.00. The bank’s price is quite favorable at that volume. Now looking at Bank Y, the median benchmark price at a volume of 5000 is just $2.00 per item. Suddenly Bank Y is exposed as the truly expensive one.
There is a range of subsequent steps available to leverage this complete analysis into savings. The pricing may simply be too high, or active services may use overly expensive configurations. The treasurer should check for any unneeded services. Common redundancies can include receiving both electronic and hardcopies of checks, using packages featuring both electronic transmission and express mail, performing multiple daily deposits instead of a single batch, or using Fedwire rather than ACH. Accurate benchmarking makes each of these wasteful potential expenses easier to identify. Once recognized, streamlining such service costs can be simple.
When it comes to bank pricing, treasurers also have a variety of options for optimization. For example, treasury could consolidate the lockbox items to Bank Y’s lower cost. It could then restructure processing at that bank to the market’s median price. Alternatively, it could request a bid from Bank Yon on the total volume and explore that offer.
Apply robust benchmark analysis across the board
The same process for optimizing bank offers and options based on complete and accurate benchmark analysis applies to all bank services used by corporate treasury teams. All transaction processing and information services should be put to careful scrutiny to see what savings may emerge. In this way, implementing the right treasury management strategy and processes to make robust benchmarking an integrated component of regular bank fee analysis is an investment that pays equally robust dividends.
Author: Heena Ladhani is the Ecosystem Manager at GTreasury, a treasury and risk management system. She is a FinTech professional with more than seven years of experience working with global clients to design solutions and improve processes utilizing treasury systems. She resides near Chicago.
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Gtreasury-200.png200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-08-31 07:00:062021-08-27 10:35:05$20 Billion in Bank Service Fees: Are You Overpaying?
treasuryXL are delighted to share the interview with Founder and Managing Director of EcomStream, Ramon Helwegen.
EcomStream is an independent consultancy and is specialized in optimization of online, omnichannel and marketplace payment solutions, and optimization of checkout flows.
Meet Ramon
treasuryXL are delighted to share the interview with Founder and Managing Director of EcomStream, Ramon Helwegen. Ramon has over 20 years of experience in E-Commerce, Online Payments and IT Managed Services outsourcing at organizations such as: Verizon, GlobalCollect (Ingenico e-payments), EMS (ABN AMRO/Fiserv) and Newgen.
Ramon has then founded EcomStream in 2017. A consultancy specialized in adding value by assessing the client’s checkout and payment solution, to sell more and pay less. For online, omnichannel and marketplace businesses.
International corporates (B2C & B2B) and Twinkle100 is the main target market. Clients include: Bax Music, Kwantum, Leen Bakker, Staples Solutions and vidaXL.
Let’s wait no longer and take the deeper dive with Ramon and his personal story about EcomStream. We asked him 8 interesting questions, let’s go!
INTERVIEW
1. What is the main goal of EcomStream?
EcomStream has been founded in 2017 and provides optimization services in the field of payment and checkout for online, omnichannel and market places. Both functionally and from a cost perspective. The goal is to provide clients the opportunity to sell more at lower costs.
Many times a client is not fully aware of optimization features that can be provided by their existing providers. This is often low hanging fruit. I also make sure that clients get value for money by benchmarking and renegotiating their rates and fees. Furthermore I’m often asked to optimize the end-to-end checkout flow to make sure the risk of drop offs is reduced to a minimum, and conversion is optimized.
2. Why are clients choosing for your services?
Assurance. Clients never have to worry again about having the best deal and set-up regarding cost and conversion, and often the service is performed on a no-cure no-pay basis.
3. What would be the biggest benefit for clients when working with EcomStream?
The payment market is very dynamic and todays knowledge gets outdated quickly. With EcomStream clients have access to up-to-date knowledge and expertise, just when they need it, and are assured of having the best deal (costs and features) with their providers at all times.
4. What client profile benefits from your services?
Rule of thumb says that most value can be generated for clients in online, omnichannel or market places, who have established mature volumes for a few years already. Clients within the Twinkle250 rankings or large corporates in B2B with direct distribution models would benefit greatly. But frankly, every merchant is very welcome to have a chat to see where I can help.
5. What is the common ground between treasury and EcomStream?
Many of the decision makers that I work with are from treasury departments. However not every treasurer understands payments, fintech, checkout and conversion as much as they would like to. Treasurers are often challenged by other stakeholders in the company to come up with cost savings or additional features, or they are pro-actively looking for opportunities to improve their KPI’s. I’m there to help them and to deliver.
6. What has been your biggest challenge with EcomStream so far?
When managing your own business you don’t have the luxury where you can rely on a large established corporate, with an enormous historical track record, that backs you up. This can be challenging. Especially when getting trust and commitment from the stakeholders and decision makers at a client side, it is your own performance that counts, for each and every project, time and time again.
7. What has been your best experience since the start of EcomStream?
First of all the strength lies within the fact that EcomStream operates an independent business model. I only work for merchants, so there are no projects taken onboard for providers or other parties in the value chain. There is never a conflict of interest but always a full commitment to the merchant.
Furthermore, I’m very pleased that I have received quite some positive work references from clients. Together with an explanation of the merchant business case, these are showing on the website.
8. What will the future hold for EcomStream?
Direct (online) distribution models are getting mainstream more and more. For B2C companies but also for B2B. Often these companies originate from traditional business models and evolve towards digital / omnichannel companies with business challenges they were not aware of before. EcomStream is there for them to unlock opportunities in the field of payment and checkout optimization, so they can sell more at lower costs.
Contact EcomStream directly
Curious to know more? Ramon Helwegen is happy to tell you more about EcomStream and his experience. Contact him directly via [email protected].
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Partner-Interview-Series_Featured-Image-EcomStream.png200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-08-10 08:44:242021-08-10 08:51:33Partner Interview Series: Ramon Helwegen of EcomStream, specialized in optimization of online payment solutions
Andrew Hollins, Director of Corporate Treasury Proposition at Refinitiv, brings you the July 2021 round-up of the latest Corporate Treasury Data Insights.
The stability of the dynamic spread between USD LIBOR and its recommended replacement SOFR raises questions about whether corporate treasurers will gain much more benefit from credit sensitive rates over and above SOFR.
Under pressure from inflation, what impact on financial markets could a move in the dollar index bring?
Central banks, including the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, are exploring a central bank digital currency. What benefits would this bring the central banks?
Corporate Treasury Charts of the Month
Sources: USD LIBOR administered by ICE Benchmark Administration; SOFR administered by Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The dynamic spread between USD LIBOR and its recommended replacement SOFR mostly reflects the credit risk of large banks. This spread has remained stable at 13-14bps over the last few years and did not change materially during the COVID-19 related market volatility in H1 2020.
The stability of this spread, particularly during periods of stress, raises questions whether credit sensitive rates such as BSBY and Ameribor provide meaningful benefits over and above SOFR to corporate treasurers.
LIBOR Transition Event: why does the USD cash market need fallback rates?
With the major banks expected to stop using USD LIBOR as a reference in the vast majority of new derivatives and cash products by the end of this year, the race is now on for market participants to accelerate their LIBOR transition programmes in order to ensure the ongoing and efficient functioning of financial markets.
In a recent webinar a panel of experts from Refinitiv, the LSTA, Wells Fargo and the U.S. Federal Reserve discuss the USD cash market and the need for fallback rates.
The Big Conversation: The two biggest risks for markets
Inflation may be the headline grabber at the moment, but it is the impact on bond yields and the U.S. dollar that really matter. If they don’t move, markets can tolerate higher inflation.
Data on the Data: the rise of central bank digital currency
Major central banks around the globe have taken steps towards identifying a framework for building a central bank digital currency (CBDC). A CBDC would be a new risk‑free digital form of currency issued by a central bank, which performs all the essential functions of money.
Major central banks around the globe, including the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB), are exploring the common principles and key features for building a CBDC.
In this new episode of Refinitiv’s Data on the Data, Sachin Somani, Global Director of the Central Banking Customer Proposition at Refinitiv, outlines the desire for central banks to develop their own digital currency to complement their existing offerings, reduce the reliance on coins and notes, and compete with private coins in the crypto space.
Watch: The Rise of Central Bank Digital Currency – Data on the Data | Refinitiv
Refinitiv Corporate Treasury Newsbeat
Significant adoption of Refinitiv Term SONIA benchmark | Six months following the January 11, 2021 launch of Refinitiv Term SONIA benchmark there has been significant client adoption of the rate. Refinitiv now sees more than 220 users from 170 clients access the Refinitiv Term SONIA rate each week via our Eikon desktop and more than 110 clients access it per month using our real-time data feeds.
Refinitiv launches Matching in Indonesia to facilitate first electronic marketplace for Rupiah FX trading | Strengthening our commitment to deepen financial markets in Indonesia and the Asia Pacific region, Refinitiv announced it has launched its leading global electronic trading Matching service in Indonesia, as the Southeast Asian nation focuses on further developing its financial market. The launch represents Indonesia’s first interbank electronic marketplace for the trading of Rupiah. How Refinitiv Matching will offer users in Indonesia the ability to explore liquidity sources, benchmark trades, and develop systematic FX trading strategies.
Research reveals true impact of COVID-19 on supply chain due diligence | New research shows only 44 percent of organisations conducted third-party due diligence checks during the COVID-19 pandemic, as companies struggled to prevent extensive supply chain disruption by creating new third-party relationships. These are the findings of the new Refinitiv report ‘Global Risk Management Report 2021: How data, technology and collaboration are reshaping risk’.
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TreasuryXL-Refinitiv-Newsletter-Thumbnail-2.png200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-07-27 08:39:442021-07-27 08:46:12Refinitiv Corporate Treasury Data Insights | July 2021
Corporate treasurers have manned a vital lookout position for their enterprises throughout the pandemic, navigating oft-tumultuous and unpredictable economic shifts. As businesses now inch closer to more normal operations, expect treasury to continue to fulfill a role of heightened intra-organizational visibility while adapting to new realities for what’s required from their job.
Here are the five trends treasurers can expect to play out in 2021, as a post-pandemic world appears closer across the horizon:
Treasury must continue to deliver accurate cash visibility and forecasting.
For many businesses hit hard, a waning pandemic will – hopefully – bring sales and production back to pre-pandemic levels. Organizations will continue to require frequent and accurate-as-possible cash forecasting to guide effective decision-making throughout this period of recovery. Treasury teams may continue to be called upon to deliver forecasts as often as weekly or daily; even as conditions stabilize, I think it’s unlikely that quarterly (or monthly) forecasts will be the norm. To facilitate this increased frequency, treasurers will increasingly pursue appropriate technologies fit for rapid-fire forecasting, particularly in the area of AI-based tools.
By and large, treasurers surveyed from the pandemic’s onset proved quite accurate in foreseeing a drawn-out pandemic recovery timetable – and the lingering impacts that have indeed since occurred. The data shows they’ve also proven effective in leading their companies to make strategic preparations accordingly. Those deft approaches ought to continue through the end of the pandemic while undergoing iterations to adapt to changing circumstances as necessary. In many ways, the outcome each company can expect is rooted in the capabilities and foundation for success that treasury teams have already implemented.
If treasurers aren’t yet equipped with the automation and treasury management systems necessary to match their cash reporting workloads, their organizations will be more vulnerable to shifting circumstances. Corporate treasurers in this position face compounding limitations: spending all available bandwidth on completing manual cash reporting processes leave no resources to implement new automation. To avoid or escape this cycle, treasurers should work with software and service providers to rapidly realize the automation they require.
Treasury must become more efficient.
Many treasury teams have become leaner over the course of the pandemic. At the same time, the cash forecasting and risk assessment that treasury provides has been crucial for enabling companies to maintain vital liquidity. That function will remain essential throughout the pandemic’s aftermath.
To accomplish more with less, treasury teams should pursue solutions that increase their efficiency via broader automation and smoother integrations. The pandemic has also driven the shift to distributed workplaces, which will persist going forward. Facilitating efficient distributed workforces will require treasury systems to be able to deliver continuous remote access to information, seamlessly and in real-time. Treasury teams that have digital automation projects in development ought to expedite those efforts now, and then release new features in stages where possible. The value of optimized processes and automation cannot be understated for corporate treasury in the post-pandemic environment.
As the pandemic subsides, merger and acquisition activity will rise.
Enterprises will have low-cost access to cash and equity as the pandemic wanes, which many will tap to pursue mergers and acquisitions. Treasurers will conduct the critical work of assessing the cash positions and risk profiles of potential merger partners and acquisition targets while ensuring the necessary liquidity to complete these transactions.
Treasurers must prioritize preparedness for benchmark rate reform.
LIBOR continues to be a moving target but is due to be replaced with new benchmark rates after 2021. Corporate treasurers are well-advised to prepare for this transition sooner than later, realigning all standing loans and contracts to the new rates. Those companies that aren’t yet on pace for a smooth transition will need to accelerate their work in this area.
Well before the deadline, treasurers should review all loans, credit, and investments tied to LIBOR, and arrange replacement rates and fallback provisions with lenders and servicers. Similarly, all new contracts will need to include appropriate fallback provisions. The new benchmark rates will also require treasurers to train and become experts in their new operating environment.
Singular platforms able to seamlessly integrate data and technologies across treasury ecosystems will be all the more valuable.
Treasury and risk management systems able to integrate cash, payments, risk, fraud, ERP, BI, and additional capabilities on a single platform are crucial to eliminating friction in payments and data workflows. Treasurers can discover vast benefits by using systems that unite the universe of fintech solutions they rely upon. Treasurers should vet and select solution ecosystems able to automate bank transfers, deliver simplified connectivity to banks and accounts across the globe, and transfer information along with payments. Those able to drive accurate decision-making, ease new feature implementation, improve treasurers’ user experiences, and provide strategic enhancements also deserve treasurers’ attention. The right technology strategy will open the door for treasurers to far more easily introduce valuable new capabilities and efficiencies.
Make no mistake about it: for corporate treasurers and the systems and processes they oversee, the aftermath of the pandemic necessitates maintaining vigilance and continuing to optimize practices.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michele Marvin
Global VP, GTreasury
Michele Marvin is a VP at GTreasury, a treasury and risk management platform provider. Prior to joining GTreasury in 2019, Marvin has held leadership roles at several large technology companies, including most recently at Flexera and Zebra Technologies.
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/5-post-pandemic-200x200-1.png200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-07-26 08:50:002021-07-26 08:50:045 Post-Pandemic Trends Corporate Treasurers Should Pay Attention To
The first-of-its-kind, in-depth global report details how far along treasury and finance teams are in digital transformation, the technologies they are most excited about, and where resistance remains.
The comprehensive 50-question survey across myriad facets of treasury technology deployment, opinion, and planning drew responses from hundreds of treasurers, treasury analysts, and other treasury and finance professionals from around the world and across industries.
Highlights from the 2021 Treasury Technology Survey Report include:
Significant growth anticipated. Payment factories, treasury aggregators, and TMS solutions are expected to realize 35-45 percent growth over the next two years.
APIs are becoming must-have capabilities. Seventy-three percent of corporate treasury groups indicated that APIs are critical to their current processes. Machine learning capabilities are also drawing outsized focus from treasurers further along in their modernization initiatives.
The gap between cash forecasting importance and reality is high. While cash forecasting is very important to 84% of treasurers, only 38% indicate they are performing at a high rate of accuracy.
Fraud prevention gains a heightened focus. Thwarting fraud is a top focus for 77% when considering the application of new technology in product development. Treasurers also report high demand for incorporating automation into fraud prevention processes.
Resistance to formats remains. Comparing legacy formats to newer and more enriched formats like XML, treasurers showed surprisingly high levels of resistance to adoption.
“Across continents and industries, treasurers are grappling with how best to transform their treasury technology stack to make processes more efficient and effective, and to drive visible value within their organizations,” said Pete Srejovic, Chief Technology Officer, GTreasury. “This survey provides a unique window into what excites and frustrates treasurers right now, and how the industry is approaching transformation in a quickly-moving ecosystem. This is a must-read report for treasury and finance professionals.”
The 2021 Treasury Technology Survey Report collected responses from March through April 2021, with 50+ questions and 250+ respondents. The full survey with all results and data is available for free download here.
Additionally, a webinar offering analysis of the report’s findings and featuring Srejovic and Craig Jeffery of Strategic Treasurer is available here.
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.
About Strategic Treasurer
Strategic Treasurer provides consulting services for treasury management, security, technology and compliance. Corporate clients, banks and fintech providers throughout the world rely on their advisory services and industry-leading research. Strategic Treasurer is headquartered in Atlanta, with consultants based out of Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Washington D.C. To learn more, visit strategictreasurer.com.
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Optimising margin and capital consumption for derivative portfolios under margin rules, FRTB and SA-CCR through effective risk and trading strategy.
London, UK or Virtual
9th – 10th September, 2021 | 08:30 BST
Financial Resource Optimisation has become of paramount importance for trading businesses after a decade of increased regulation and diminishing margins. Banks are required to hold enough capital to absorb losses and in recent times the minimum requirement for capital in derivatives trading has increased due to the push towards central clearing, margin reforms, XVA and Basel regulations.
The increasing capital requirements, increases the cost of the derivatives business which makes it even more important for banks to allocate capital for optimal return. With smarter portfolio and day to day trading along with utilisation of technology to help identify opportunities and improve trading decisions, banks can manage to create a capital efficient product mix that meets regulatory demands and leads to optimisation of capital and resources in the front desk.
The marcus evans ‘Front Office Financial Resource and Capital Optimisation’ conference will bring you one step closer to creating the optimal capital focused business model in the current climate. Attend in London on 9-10 September, 2021 or join virtually, and hear insights from industry experts on how to optimise margin and capital consumption for derivative portfolios under margin rules, FRTB and SA-CCR through effective risk and trading decisions.
Attending This Premier marcus evans Conference Will Enable You to:
Assess the impact of regulation such as UMR, SACCR, leverage ratio and FRTB on capital.
Establish a dynamic portfolio that can take advantage of opportunities for optimising margin and capital.
Consider the day-to-day trading decisions and how this impacts P&L and capital.
Exploit methods for financial resource optimisation such as technological opportunities, compression, innovation, etc.
Practical Insights and Case Studies from Industry Experts, some of which include:
Guillaume Dechambre, Director, XVA Strategy, BMO Capital Markets
Jesper Thye-Oestergaard, Head of Liquidity and Capital Analytics, Nordea Markets, Corporates and Institutions
Sandeep Shukla, Head of USD Swaps Trading, Natixis CIB Americas
Jean Jacques Kamdem, Global Head of Traded Credit Analytics, HSBC Global Banking and Markets
Thomas Rohold, Head of Financial Resource Management, Senior Vice President, Danske Bank
Matteo Angeloni, Director, XVA Trader, National Australia Bank
Andrew Green, Managing Director and XVA Lead Quant, Scotiabank
https://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/front-office-financial.png200200treasuryXLhttps://treasuryxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/treasuryXL-logo-300x56.pngtreasuryXL2021-07-20 07:00:022021-09-28 11:48:59Front Office Financial Resource and Capital Optimisation | September 9-10, 2021
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