Tag Archive for: risk

How can treasurers use cryptocurrencies?

| 7-9-2017 | Carlo de Meijer |

 

Recently I read a blog from Victoria Beckett published in GTNews, titled “How can treasurers use cryptocurrencies”.  Nowadays there are more than thousand different cryptocurrencies in circulation. The dollar value of the 20 biggest cryptocurrencies is around $ 150 billion. While cryptocurrencies soared to unknown levels, also the explosion in Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs for funding purposes is evidence of their growing attraction. But are these cryptocurrencies suited for corporate treasuries.

Benefits

In her blog Victoria Beckett said that there are several benefits to treasurers using cryptocurrencies. These may bring various benefits including avoiding paying large transactions fees to banks, realising immediate payments and the ability for transactions to be kept open or private. According to her corporate treasury business no longer need to use mainstream financial regulatory frameworks. Cryptocurrencies could provide business with the ability to move assets outside of the normal banking regulatory framework.

She argued that one of the key benefits to making business payments using cryptocurrencies is that it cuts out banks in the transaction completely, avoiding large transaction fees, while “payments can also get transferred immediately anywhere in the world”.

Critics

But there were some critics as “banks have to trade off the operational benefits that the technology may provide against the added cost of needing to buy and sell a cryptocurrency to make a transaction.” “Therefore, the benefits are low when dealing with efficient ‘corridors’ such as US and Europe, but higher when transacting with Zimbabwe” David Putts.

Besides, there are a large number of different cryptocurrencies in circulation with different protocols etc. These are not interoperable/interchangeable.  So when using cryptocurrencies they at some point in time have to be transferred into fiat money. And that also costs money.

I also missed other use cases for corporate treasurers in the article. Just using cryptocurrencies payments would be a very limited use case, given the large number of other activities performed by corporate treasurers.

Risky business

When reading the article I got the impression that the risks of cryptocurrencies were rather  under estimated. Certain features of cryptocurrencies are not backed by any government, have no status as legal tender and rely on network protocols and cryptographic techniques to enable counterparties to transact. This may present various risks.
First of all cryptocurrency exchange platforms normally have no regulation. Thus there is no legal protection. And we have seen the various examples of hacking these exchanges with many people losing their money.
Second, virtual money is normally stored in a digital wallet on a computer. Though these wallets have passwords and key they are still valuable for hacking etc.
Third, there is no protection for funds under EU law when using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. We still live in a largely fiat-money dominated world. So these cryptocurrencies had to be concerted one day into their own legal currency and that costs money.
Fourth, cryptocurrencies are very volatile. There is no guarantee that the cryptocurrencies will remain stable.  Cryptocurrencies currently lack a derivatives market, which makes them a risky medium for business contracts that last for any amount of timer, especially given their constant value fluctuations. This year for example the exchange rate of the bitcoin climbed from a low of 968 dollar to more than 3000, fell back to 1.800 six weeks ago and climbed to 5.000.
Fifth, due to the untraceable nature of cryptocurrencies, they provide a high degree of anonymity, making them vulnerable to misuse for criminal activities.

Action from regulators across the world

For some, it is a pro that cryptocurrencies in most countries are not regulated, such as for hackers and/or speculators.  That idea is however rapidly changing giving the risks associated. At a global level, there is an urgent need for regulatory clarity given the growth of the market.

All these risks mentioned above are prompting action from a growing number of jurisdictions.

Regulators in China have publicly announced that they will forbid the use of ICOs. And also regulators in other countries like Japan, Singapore, and the US are looking at ways to regulate. The SEC in the US has officially confirmed it was looking into regulation of cryptocurrency ICOs. The SEC is mainly concerned with the risks these ICOs pose. And Singapore will regulate ICO offerings that are deemed to be securities.

But also on a more broader scale Europa there is increased activity by regulators in Europe to reign in the use of crypto currencies. The EU Parliament is expected to pass measures soon to bring certain virtual currency service providers within their AML (anti money laundering) / CTF (counterfeiting) regulation. These measures do not seek to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies, but will require virtual currency service providers to implement customer due diligence measures.

Polish regulators are warning investors and banks to avoid dealing with digital currencies like bitcoin and ether. The regulators clarified that cryptocurrencies are not considered legal tender in Poland.

The Maltese regulatory watchdog (MFSA) also warned traders about the risks associated with the virtual currency. According to them a virtual currency is an unregulated digital instrument and is a form of money that is not equivalent to the national currencies. The MFSA however stressed that It does not (yet) regulate the acceptance of payment of service in regards to the virtual currencies.

Are central banks overcoming their reservations?

Central bankers, from Russia to China, Frankfurt and New York, are increasingly wary of the risks posed by these crypto currencies. I therefore question if central banks worldwide are overcoming their reservations versus cryptocurrencies and really come out in favour of the cryptocurrency.

The recent boom in cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology is becoming too big for central banks to ignore. The risk is that they are reacting too late to both the pitfalls and the opportunities presented by digital coinage.

Bitcoin and its peers pose a threat to the established money system by effectively circumventing it. CBs are well aware of losing control over the money supply, if they don’t react. A solution may be that CBs are issuing digital money themselves to maintain control. Various central banks worldwide are now experimenting with that idea.

Forward thinking

The attraction of virtual currencies is mainly for speculative reasons, rather than for corporates to facilitate treasury. Corporate treasuries are increasingly looking for centralisation of the treasury organisation away from decentralisation. They also are very much focused on reducing the various corporate risks including FX, short term interest rate, cross currency liquidity, etc.

And when it is regulated on a larger scale it is questionable if the described benefits of speed, efficiency or scalability attributed to the use of cryptocurrencies still will meet the costs associated .

The announcement by the Bank of China to put a halt on initial coin offerings or ICOs had a negative impact on the very volatile bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In one day it lost almost 15% of its value. The corporate treasurer however does not like volatility!

 

Carlo de Meijer

Economist and researcher

 

Bitcoin nieuws! De Splitsing!

| 4-9-2017 | Erna Erkens |

Wat is er gebeurd met de Bitcoin per 1 augustus? De Bitcoin is gesplitst! Ik zal het hieronder proberen uit te leggen. Ik voorspel u vast, het is niet eenvoudig. Na de vele discussies over de schaal van de digitale valuta Bitcoin, is er besloten om een ​​geheel nieuwe valuta te maken, de Bitcoin Cash. Het is wel een beetje ingewikkeld allemaal. Het is een resultaat van politieke, technologische en ideologische discussies over het laten groeien van de Bitcoin. Sommige deskundigen zeggen dat een hele nieuwe valuta,  genaamd Bitcoin Cash,  kan helpen om Bitcoin op grotere schaal toegankelijk te maken voor een grotere groep mensen.

De afgelopen tijd was er een strijd tussen concurrerende visies,” zegt Zaki Manain, een onafhankelijke cryptocurrency expert. Deze strijd is per 1 augustus voorlopig even gestreden. Om ervoor te zorgen dat de Bitcoin een eenvoudiger wereldwijd betalingssysteem wordt dat iedereen kan gebruiken, moet de Bitcoin over de groeipijn heen geholpen worden. Er is nu voor de oplossing gekozen om een ​​hele nieuwe valuta te maken met soortgelijke blockchain software.

Wat betekent dit nu?

Laat ik beginnen met te zeggen dat uitgeven van de Bitcoin moeilijk en ingewikkeld is.
Bitcoins zijn gebouwd op iets dat blockchain heet. De Bitcoin blockchain is een openbaar grootboek dat alle transactiegegevens bevat van iedereen die Bitcoins gebruikt. Transacties worden toegevoegd aan “blokken” ofwel de koppelingen van codes die een keten (blockchain) vormen. Elke transactie moet in een blok worden opgenomen. Maar deze blokken zijn vol en dit levert een grote vertraging op in de betalingen. Momenteel zijn er gemiddeld ongeveer 1.700 transacties die per Bitcoin block kunnen worden opgeslagen, bij ongeveer drie transacties per seconde, zegt specialist Manain. Dat is niet heel veel. (Visa, bijvoorbeeld, handelt duizenden transacties per seconde).
Omdat de Bitcoin blockchain te druk wordt, kan het gebeuren dat iemand iets betaalt met een Bitcoin, maar dat het heel lang duurt voordat de betaling goedgekeurd wordt. Het verschil is de grootte van de betalingsblokken. De originele Bitcoin heeft blokken van 1 MB die snel vollopen met opdrachten, waardoor het verwerken van betalingen veel tijd kost. En dus duurt het lang voordat de partij waar de betaling aan verricht wordt kan zien dat hij/zij het geld ontvangen heeft. Dat is niet goed voor het vertrouwen. Bij Bitcoin Cash zijn de blokken 8 x zo groot, waarmee de betalingen veel sneller kunnen worden uitgevoerd. Er is ook een poging gedaan om dit probleem op te lossen door een regelwijziging toe te passen op de software. Deze werd genoemd: “Segregated Witness” (gescheiden getuigen. SegWit2X). De regelwijziging zou mensen in staat stellen om meer transacties op elk blok te zetten. Dit wordt in technische termen een “soft fork” genoemd. Sorry, ik kan er ook niks aan doen.  Dit zou niet hoeven leiden tot een hele nieuwe cryptocurrency. Deze nieuwe regel zou moeten worden ingevoerd in november. Dit vergroot de grootte van de software van 1 MB naar 2MB. Voor sommigen was dit niet genoeg. Daarom een tweede Bitcoin: De Bitcoin Cash.

Wat is de Bitcoin Cash?

De Bitcoin Cash is een zogenaamde “hard fork” (sorry, ik heb het niet bedacht). De makers zorgen voor een volledig nieuwe software, die het aantal transacties per blok acht keer groter maakt ( 4 x na SegWit2x). Geen idee hoe dit precies werkt. Dit betekent dat Bitcoin Cash transacties veel sneller kunnen worden verwerkt. Bitcoin Cash is niet hetzelfde als de “normale” Bitcoin. Op 1 augustus was een eenheid van Bitcoin Cash USD 240 waard. De echte Bitcoin was toen meer dan USD 2.700 waard.
Bitcoin Cash valt of staat met het vertrouwen van de markt, net als de gewone Bitcoin. Het zal alleen succesvol worden als mensen vaak beslissen om de blokken voor de Bitcoin Cash blockchain te creëren (minen of vinden, zoals u wilt). Het eerste blok is aangemaakt dinsdag 1 augustus.

Hieronder het koersverloop van de Bitcoin Cash tegen de USD van de eerste week:

Wat het betekent voor consumenten en bedrijven?

Voor iedere “oude” Bitcoin die u bezit, bezit u ook een Bitcoin Cash. Echter, niet alle Bitcoin-uitwisselingsplaatsen (de plek waar mensen hun bitcoin opslaan, waar je je Bitcoin wallet hebt een soort van Bitcoin portemonnaie) zullen Bitcoin Cash accepteren. U krijgt alleen Bitcoin Cash erbij als u zelf  uw Bitcoins beheert of als u bij een Bitcoin Cash-vriendelijke Bitcoinbeurs zit.
Dit kan een belemmering zijn voor de wereldwijde acceptatie van de Bitcoin Cash. En om Bitcoin Cash te gebruiken voor gewone transacties zoals koffie kopen, zullen bedrijven het moeten accepteren, ongeacht of ze de gewone Bitcoin al accepteren of niet. De toekomst zal uitwijzen of dit gebeurd of niet.  “Dit hele proces zal ons veel informatie geven over hoe we in deze toekomst met deze systemen omgaan,” zegt Manain. “Het zal een blauwdruk zijn voor toekomstige ontwikkelingen in de wereld van cryptocurrencies op basis van blockchain. We gaan hier heel veel van leren.
De vraag blijft: welke versie gaan de miners ondersteunen? Bitcoin-miners zetten de enorme rekenkracht van hun computers in voor het ‘ontdekken’ van nieuwe bitcoins. Om dat te kunnen  doen zijn ze verplicht om betalingsopdrachten te verifiëren. Zo fungeren ze als verwerkers van de Bitcoin betalingen en zijn dus essentieel voor een betrouwbaar systeem.
Het is mogelijk dat alle Bitcoin-miners overstappen naar de nieuwe versie, waardoor de oude variant niet meer functioneel is omdat er dan niemand meer is om de opdrachten te controleren. Maar de kans bestaat ook dat alleen maar een deel van de miners overstapt. Dan ontstaan er dus zelfs drie versies van de Bitcoin. Het is nog niet klaar met de Bitcoin ontwkkeling.

Hieronder nog het koersverloop van de “gewone” Bitcoin tegen de USD van de afgelopen maand:

Als u vragen heeft hoor ik het graag. Alles rond Bitcoins is flink ingewikkeld. Ik weet niet of ik meteen de antwoorden weet, maar ik ga er in ieder geval naar op zoek.

Erna Erkens

 

Erna Erkens

Owner at Erna Erkens Valuta Advies (EEVA)

 

Trump’s determination to protect American business

| 14-8-2017 | Rob Beemster |

 

Many negative issues surround the President of the United States.  Approval rating hits new low,  surprise on his erratic conduct seems to grow daily. Trump is a unique politician. He is incomparable to any other western political leader. I want to pinpoint his monetary policy in 2017, by looking at the pattern of the dollar so far this year.

The dollar in 2017

Currency pair             January 2017              August 2017               Relative decrease USD

EUR/USD                    1.05                            1.18                            12.4%

AUD/USD                    0.72                            0.80                            11.1%

GBP/USD                    1.22                            1.32                            8.2%

USD/JPY                      1.18                            1.10                            6.8%

USD/CNY                    6.96                            6.70                            3.7%

Maybe Mr Trump does have a foreign economic policy.

He sees the results of Chinese manipulation and soft American response as an unfair trade relationship. The President of the US must do something about these unbalances. At least, this is how Trump judges.

Let’s take into account this Potus is a streetfighter. Long bilateral meetings with the Chinese are not options for Trump. Fast and furious, that it is: Bring the dollar down!!
And this is going on for half a year now. It is going the Trump way. Tough (but efficient)!

How to see the future value of the dollar?

The current outlook for the dollar against its main trading relations is related to some issues:

–          Process of QE by ECB, and  Euro interest rates

–          North Korea

–          China’s position in this geopolitical stress

–          Economic conditions of the US

–          Economic conditions of the main trading partners of the US

These are very important to determine the future value of the dollar. But this is the holistic view, we are all used to. Let’s be flexible and take a different stance. Just conclude as Trump will do. Be his alter ego.Then the most important issues are:

–          Pattern of the Euro against the dollar and the bilateral trade balance between US and Germany

–          China’s reaction to a lower dollar

–          US trade balance

–          US corporates repatriation of overseas cash

–          US investments to produce within America

–          FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in America

This is a totally different scope. If we want to understand Trump, then we have to use his view on the international arena. The above mentioned bullet points are crucial. All can easily be measured, Trump loves that. I would like to go through these points to be able to clarify the possible outcome of the dollar for the coming time.

Pattern of the Euro against the dollar and the bilateral trade balance between US and Germany

The more than 12% revaluation will have a serious impact on the trade balance between US and Germany. When the correction emerges, Trump might temper his view on Germany. When we notice correction in the trade data, the dollar has gone far enough…

China’s reaction to a lower dollar

So far the yuan has gained some territory but not as much as other major currencies rose against the dollar. How will PBOC and the Chinese Government react on Trump’s wishes to correct the trade balance by a devaluation of the dollar against the yuan? If they take action on Trump’s stated requirements, whatever this may be, then pressure may diminish.

US trade balance

For many years the US  faces a deficit on its trade balance. The more than $500 billion yearly shortage is a notable pain point. If a remarkable achievement can be noticed on short term, a more relaxed dollar attitude may be expected.

US corporates repatriation of overseas cash

In history, attempts have been organised by US governments to return overseas cash of US corporations. During President Bush jr Presidency, corporations did repatriate cash. When Trump does decrease the corporate tax tariff to  15% and he rewards the US corps to transfer their money back to the US without any other penalty payments, a large repatriation may get going. Many of these funds will until now be held in local currencies, so a switch to the dollar may occur.

US corps return back to America

Trump has ordered US companies to produce in the US instead of overseas. If he becomes successful by bringing factories back to the US, the trade balance will shift, employment will improve. Also when large repatriation is done, these funds can be invested in local factories.

FDI in America

Many non-US corporations are scared by the threat of the US government that regulations like import tariffs and other taxes may be charged on imports. It will damage the advantage corporations have experienced last couple of years due to the high dollar. If special import tariffs are installed, investments may be done in the US to avoid these special expenditures. Onshore producing on American soil will become an alternative.

How to manage this?

Foreign currency management has always been a hard part of the international business. Currency moves are unpredictable. But since Trump, one has to be aware of non-economic issues as well. Note that all the above mentioned issues can have effect on the value of the dollar. Professional guidance of your flows is becoming more and more important. Barcelona valuta experts helps you to install a decent strategy to counter unpredicted events. We guide you in protecting the cash flow.

 

Rob Beemster

Owner of Barcelona valuta experts BV

Bitcoins or banks, who is taking care of the business?

| 2-8-2017 | Hans de Vries |

Banks have long been target of wild spread ideas that their role as facilitator in the (inter) national money transaction industry will soon be overtaken by new Fintech initiatives like PayPal, Bitcoin and recently Ethereum. The idea behind these new technologies is that the Trusted Third Party (TTP) role of the conventional banks which is crucial for the operational day to day operations of the economic systems can be overtaken by the new block chain technology. Main advantages are clear: transactions are no longer limited by timing (no dependency on the operational boundaries of clearing houses, cut-off times of banks per currency, immediate processing etc), account opening procedures at the banks, the costs involved in maintaining accounts and transactions themselves etc.

The recent Ransomware attacks, that had an enormous impact on numerous companies and governmental institutions at a global level, showed however a less favorable aspect of this new technology. Due to its lack of control on the specifics of account ownership, Bitcoin proved to be the ideal means to collect the ransom money the victims have to pay to free their systems. This piracy trend will in my view also seriously hamper the future development of these sort of bank independent transaction mechanisms. Even more threatening for the Bitcoin development are the recent crypto robbery cases in which millions of dollars’ worth balances were stolen from the accounts. These incidents show the vital role of the banks as TTP since most banks are obliged to deliver their services according to the rules and regulations of their national and super-national banks. As indicated before, this means that for opening accounts lots of formalities have to be endured (the KYC rules are in some countries stretched to the absolute max). At the same time., due to the international regulations the control on international transactions are very extensive and therefore at the same time very costly for the banks. Every violation of the international code book on transactions to banned countries can have severe financial consequences for the banks involved. An last but not least banks have to maintain an international network of correspondent banks to make sure that the international transactions reach their beneficiaries in a reasonable timeframe and at reasonable costs.

This whole system has of course been developed to gain maximum control on transaction flows locally and worldwide. However it also provides the trust needed to be able to deal with (inter) national trade flows crucial to our economic day to day operations. As long as there are no ways to secure your transactions and balances in a bitcoin like environment as most transaction banks are providing today, Bitcoins remain a very interesting technological experience but will in no way replace the role of banks as TTP shortly.

 

 

Hans de Vries

Treasury/Cash Management Consultant

 

 

More articles of this author: 

Will the European banks strike back?

The Euro from a treasury perspective

New norms in banking: More than 30 new areas emerging. Pick your fights!

Trade Finance – funding your imports and exports

|28-6-2017 | Vincenzo Masile | treasuryXL |

 

You might visit this site, being a treasury professional with years of experience in the field. However you could also be a student or a businessman wanting to know more details on the subject, or a reader in general, eager to learn something new. The ‘Treasury for non-treasurers’ series is for readers who want to understand what treasury is all about. Our expert Vincenzo Masile tells us more about trade finance products.

 

Trade finance instruments

International and domestic trade is highly complex and involves a web of intricate risks. Trade finance instruments are available to deliver fast, efficient, reliable and comprehensive solutions for every stage of a company’s trade value chain to support their foreign trade activities.
Trade finance products can be combined and shaped into a custom-built product that helps reduce company’s risks and will enable the business to flourish.

Innovative tailored short, medium and long-term trade finance solutions enable banks to meet their corporate and financial institutions client’s global import and export needs in a timely, efficient, risk adverse manner.
Trade finance products include letters of credit, documentary collections and bank guarantees. With a letter of credit (also known as a documentary credit), the buyer’s bank guarantees payment to the seller if certain criteria are met. Documentary collections, just as letters of credit, reduce the payment risks on international trade transactions, and with a bank guarantee company obligations to third parties are ensured. All these products offer security and protection against risks if an international trade transaction does not go as planned.

Funding and security

Importers and exporters can also use a letter of credit to obtain financing. An exporter, for instance, can obtain funding from his local bank to manufacture the goods as this bank is assured that payment will follow when the documents are presented under the credit.

In summary, it is not difficult to see the potential complexity of the arrangements on offer and the variety of ways in which they can be beneficial to a company. It is paramount, however, to work with a bank that fully understands the financial instruments available and their protocols and applicability in the overseas markets. Given this, trade finance and cash management are powerful tools for business growth and momentum.

Vincenzo Masile

Treasury Expert/Credit Risk Manager

 

 

 

Blockchain technology by 2018: A breakthrough

| 19-6-2017 | Carlo de Meijer |

Last year August I wrote a blog on what to expect for 2017. Now we are halfway 2017, so it is time to look forward to next year: 2018. According to the Gartner Hype Cycle we are now in the “Trough of Despair” stage. That indicates that we have left the overhyped period behind us, and entered a more realistic period with real-world applications. Some see this market as the classic S-curve: periods of little news flow, followed by a significant market-moving announcement, a significant uptick in activity followed by another plateau.

What did I forecast for 2017?

1. We are beyond the hype

2. Focus on blockchain integration

3. Private blockchain networks

4. Use cases will be further broadened to non-financial applications

5. Blockchain technology will become more mature enabling better and more secure application …

6. …… and also directly chained solutions

7. In 2017 we will see real-world applications

8. The year of the smart contracts

9. Growing competition for blockchain platforms

10. Increased discussion about standards

11. Security gets priority

12. Regulators enter the scene

What may we expect for 2018?

A lot is happening in the blockchain arena. And many announcements are being made of new proof of concepts, and initiatives in a large number of areas. But does that mean that 2018 will be the year of the breakthrough of blockchain? Let’s look what the various organisations think. That could give some indications.

Accenture

First of all Dutch-based consultancy Accenture. According to them, the years 2015 and 2016 focused on research and proof of concepts (PoC’s ) in a broad spectrum of blockchain use cases. But for 2017 – 2018 the organisation expects Dutch banks will concentrate on a number of real-world application areas and use cases. Thereby the focus will be on solutions that are ripe for commercialisation. During these years blockchain will develop in the banking world form promise to a valuable solution, Accenture expects.

Banking group: Blockchain to be “widely adopted by 2018“

Another interesting initiative is that of Deutsche Bank, UBS, Santander und BNY Mellon. They have announced a blockchain product cooperation and develop a digital currency of their own, to be market ready by 2018. According to the group, reliable, ready-to-run products across industries will have a positive business case within the next few years. “By that time, we will not even notice that Blockchain is the enabling technology anymore. It will have matured enough to promote itself in widely accepted, evolutional steps rather than in a disruptive, revolutionary manner”.

BTMU plans international fund transfers via blockchain in 2018

Also worthwhile to mention is the cooperation between Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) and six other international banking groups, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Standard Chartered Bank of the U.K., Royal Bank of Scotland, Spain’s Banco Santander, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Australia’s Westpac Banking. They will launch a faster and lower-cost cross-border wiring service that uses blockchain, in 2018. US start-up Ripple will thereby provide blockchain technology. This group will initially offer the global blockchain transfer service to individuals in early 2018, and then slowly expand to corporate clients.

Capco

According to financial service business and technology consultant Capco, 2018 will be the year blockchain technology comes into production. The company names lending, CDS swap trade and post-trade lifecycle, trade finance and business-to-business payments as some of the areas that would first benefit from blockchain technology. This is supported by the many announcements by the industry of “movements from small proof of concepts within innovation centres of financial institutions, to C-level mandated proof of concepts supported by actual business cases and a roadmap into production”.

DTCC to Adopt Blockchain Tech by 2018

Also in the US blockchain developments are challenging. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced that it plans to go live with its blockchain-powered credit default swaps (CDS) reporting platform in the first quarter of 2018. The project to rebuild its existing credit derivatives clearing platform using distributed ledger technology started in January 2017 with the help of fintech startup Axoni, technology giant IBM and the R3 blockchain banking consortium. It aims to improve its process by revamping its Trade Information Warehouse using distributed ledger technology to increase operational efficiencies. The DTCC’s new CDS reporting solution will launch in shadow mode and run alongside currently existing post-trade infrastructure. It will allow multiple financial institutions to view and update transactions at the same time.

IBM study: 90% of governments plans to invest in blockchain by 2018

According to a recent IBM Blockchain research report titled “Building trust in government – Exploring the potential of Blockchains”, government organizations across the globe are exploring use cases for blockchains that can impact their jurisdictions. The IBM Institute for Business Value surveyed 200 government leaders in 16 countries on their experiences and expectations with Blockchains.

One of the outcomes was that nine in ten government organizations plan to invest in Blockchain for use in financial transaction management, asset management, contract management and regulatory compliance by 2018. And seven in ten government executives predict Blockchain will significantly disrupt the area of contract management, which is often the intersection of the public and private sectors.

Infosys study : one third of banks expect commercial blockchain adoption in 2018

A study by Infosys Finacle, a global leader in technology service & consulting, that polled over 100 business and technology leaders at more than 75 financial institutions across the world revealed that, while 50% of banks are already investing in blockchain or will do so in 2017. These investments not only support blockchain initiatives, but also explore use cases beyond the traditional realm of cross-border remittances, clearing, and settlement. Banks are now moving towards commercial adoption, and one in every three banks expects to see commercial adoption by 2018. While 50% of the surveyed banks expected to see mainstream commercial adoption only by 2020. Cross-border remittances, digital identity management, clearing and settlement, letter of credit processes, and syndication of loans are the most likely candidates for commercial adoption.

McKinsey

McKinsey, the world-wide management consultancy firm, recently submitted a blockchain Technology report to the US Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance. The firm analysed how the technology may disrupt a range of industries, emphasizing banking and insurance, and predicts commercial deployment of blockchain technology at scale by the year 2021. The firm states that more mature businesses using the technology have now entered the market, and over a hundred blockchain solutions have been explored. The firm expects 20 to 30 proof-of-concept use cases for blockchain technology to be tested in 2018, with 10 to 20 successful business cases surviving and deployed commercially by late 2020.

Thailand adoption of blockchain technology by 2018

As the blockchain technology continues to expand and take root and expand, Thailand also stands to see its widespread adoption in the country. According to the Bangkok Post, a number of sectors, including finance will adopt this new technology by the year 2018. Blockchain specialist Bhume said that the country is poised to see the technology take over banking and financial services in the near future.

“The adoption of blockchain technology is expected to be widely seen here by 2018, thanks to its capability of transferring valued assets with trustworthiness, transparency and security.” Bhume Bhumiratana, Bangkok Post.

What do I expect?

We are beyond the hype, a growing number of private blockchains arrived, use cases are further broadened to non-financial applications, and we see the first real-world applications. But still a large number of things have to be realised. We also see some disappointments like Project Jasper in Canada that sees many challenges to overcome before realisation. Bank-based collaboration R3CEV has lost a number of its founding members. That means we have entered the reality stage. But that is also a breakthrough!

 

Carlo de Meijer

Economist and researcher

 

Payment threat trends

| 12-6-2017 | Lionel Pavey |

In the article ‘payment threat trends’ on FinExtra.com you can read that the European Payments Council provides an insight into the latest developments on threats affecting payments, including cybercrime. You can also download the document, which is divided in two sections. One analyses threats including denial of service attacks, social engineering and phishing, malware, mobile related attacks, card related fraud, botnets, etc… Another section aims to include early warnings on threats related to emerging technologies which could lead to potential fraud, including cloud services and big data, internet of things and virtual currencies.

Payment policies

Generally, companies will have a secure, written policy for making payments. These will be generated from the purchasing and bookkeeping systems and should be reconciled. Beneficiary static data should be restricted to view only for the staff – only authorized staff can make and amend the data.
Payments relating to creditors should only be processed if a purchase order has been originated internally and is approved. All payments should be uploaded to recognized bank systems and verified with a six-eyes doctrine.

The biggest area of concern relates to electronic payments outside of the abovementioned process – namely via credit cards. If inventory levels are not correctly monitored then it can occur that a one-off purchase order is made. Payment should be made through a recognized payment provider such as Ideal or PayPal. Furthermore, the issuing of credit cards to key personnel leads to many more risks that can not be directly controlled by the company.

Risks for companies

When using a credit card in a public area, there are a few obvious dangers:

  • Card being stolen
  • Open WIFI in the area
  • Skimmers applied to hand held card devices

Up to now, the majority of payments have occurred on stand-alone bank software. As we enter the electronic age of disintermediation, there are many companies offering payment services. Blockchain and bitcoin are the obvious examples. No system is completely secure but, in the past, banks have made good on any loses if it was shown that the banks systems were at fault. However, hacking into Blockchain wallets and taking electronic coins has occurred and the losses are not covered as they are not run by banks or governments.

For a company this leads to direct risks such as monetary loss, fraud and loss of reputation. Also of concern is the danger of company data being stored by external third parties.

Clearly defined doctrine

Despite all the technological advances being made that make payments easier, companies need to stick to a strong clearly defined doctrine for payments:-

  • Only payments via purchasing and bookkeeping systems
  • Restricted use of credit cards
  • Elimination of petty cash
  • Secure protection of the static data relating to creditors
  • Payments offered only through recognized bank software

Blockchain

Blockchain is a reality – its uses go far further than just payments. The technology can not be stopped – the major issues (in my opinion) revolve around the electronic currencies (Bitcoin).
Companies would do well to investigate the advantages that Blockchain offers and consider how it can be implemented within a company. Some of the potential uses include compliance, insurance, finance, energy, supply chain management, human resources, accounting, data, taxes etc.

As for payment threats – stay alert, identify and manage risks, and keep abreast of changes.

Lionel Pavey

 

Lionel Pavey

Cash Management and Treasury Specialist


Safety of payments

Payment fraud – Leoni case

Fastned Obligaties – wegens succes verlengd…

| 8-6-2017 | treasuryXL |

In december 2016 hebben we deze vragen al eerder gesteld: Hoe interessant is beleggen in bedrijfsobligaties met een hoge rente? Hoe aantrekkelijk is deze financieringsoptie voor ondernemingen? In ons artikel namen we de obligaties van Fastned als voorbeeld. Het blijkt nu dat deze obligaties toch grote aantrekkingskracht hadden op investeerders.

Opnieuw advertenties Fastned

Tot recentelijk was in advertenties van Fastned het volgende te lezen:

De inschrijving op Fastned obligaties is een groot succes. Binnen een week was er al voor 5 miljoen euro ingetekend door meer dan 400 investeerders. We hebben daarom besloten om de inschrijving door te laten lopen tot de uitgiftedatum, 6 juni, 16:00 uur.
Dit betekent dat u nog … dagen de tijd heeft om in te schrijven op de obligaties en te profiteren van 6% rente per jaar.
Daarnaast is dit een mooie kans om (verder) te investeren in de groei van Fastned en een duurzame wereld.
Samenvattend volgens Fastned:
Rendement uit duurzame infrastructuur,  uitkering per kwartaal, looptijd 5 jaar, deelname al mogelijk vanaf € 1.000, operationele kosten afgedekt tot 2019, beleggen in duurzaamheid en nog meer.

Doel is het groei van netwerk snellaadstations en de uitgifte van de obligaties was dus gisteren.

Hoe zat het ook weer?

treasuryXL recapituleert:
In het Financieele Dagblad kon men op 6 december 2016 een Bartjens commentaar lezen over deze Fastned obligaties: Het principe is simpel: een wankel bedrijf leent geld. De relatief grote kans op wanbetaling willen beleggers gecompenseerd zien met een behoorlijke vergoeding, dat wil zeggen een hoge rente. In de VS worden dit soort emissies ‘junkbonds’ genoemd en ze zijn daar populair, hier is het een kleine markt. Maar toen in december 2016 werd er een onvervalst speculatieve obligatie uitgegeven. En dat was Fastned. Het bedrijf dat een Europees netwerk van snellaadstations voor elektrische auto’s bouwt, leende € 2,5 mln. De lening heeft een looptijd van vijf jaar. De couponrente is 6%. Ter vergelijking: de Nederlandse Staat (superveilig) leent voor vijf jaar tegen 0%, Shell (behoorlijk veilig) leent voor vijf jaar tegen een coupon van 1,25% en Gazprom (Russisch, iets minder veilig) leent in Zwitserse frank voor vijf jaar tegen 2,75%. Wat duidelijk maakt dat de 6% van Fastned behoorlijke risico’s impliceert. Het bedrijf is klein, jong en verlieslatend. Het heeft geen reserves en een negatief eigen vermogen, zo blijkt uit het prospectus. Maar goed, ‘de cost gaet voor de baet uyt’ en juist nu moet Fastned investeren.’
En nu anno 2017 blijkt het toch een groot succes.

Expert Douwe Dijkstra was in onze eerdere artikel heel duidelijk:
Voor beleggen in Fastned obligaties geldt hetzelfde als voor elke andere investering. Het rendement is omgekeerd evenredig aan het risico. Het lijkt mij enkel aantrekkelijk voor beleggers die wel een gokje durven te wagen met een te overziene inzet die ze wel kunnen missen. Of voor beleggers met een ideologische wereldvisie. Vorige week (in 2016 red.) las ik in een ander artikel nog dat die investeerders met een loep gezocht moeten worden.

Pieter de Kiewit vulde aan: 
Investeren in start-ups gaat mijns inziens gepaard met een andere investeringsanalyse dan in volwassen ondernemingen. Daarbij is de ‘groene factor’ voor vele beleggers reden anders naar een onderneming te kijken. Persoonlijk vraag ik me af of een avontuurlijke investeerder in dit geval niet beter een equity investering kan doen. Vanuit Fastned perspectief kan ik, met hun vertrouwen in hun business case, begrijpen dat ze liever obligaties uitgeven dan nieuwe aandelen..

En nu toch een succes…

Als wij FastNed mogen geloven zijn er overduidelijk genoeg investeerders geweest, die een gokje kunnen en willen wagen of duidelijk op zoek zijn naar duurzame beleggingen. De obligaties waren blijkbaar ‘niet aan te slepen’ en de uitgifte is zelfs verlengd tot de uitgiftedatum.
Wat zeker ook speelt is dat veel investeerders op zoek zijn naar beleggingsmogelijkheden, omdat er weinig rendabele (en veiligere) alternatieven zijn. En dan is flinke risico’s nemen blijkbaar toch interessanter dan bijna niets verdienen.

Bron:  Fastned 

Annette Gillhart – Community Manager treasuryXL

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How to improve your working capital with Trade Finance instruments

| 22-5-2017 | Olivier Werlingshoff |

Trade finance instruments are developed especially for companies that deal with  export and/or import of goods to reduce risk but also to improve the working capital. Before going into the working capital part first let us refresh the theory.

If you are an importer of goods you would like to be sure the goods you will receive are the same as the goods you ordered. How can you be sure that the exporter sent you the right quality of goods and the right quantity, or that he sent them at all? One of the possibilities you have to reduce that risk is to pay after receiving the goods. If the quality and the quantity do not match with what you ordered, you simply do not accept the goods and do not pay the invoice.

At the same time the exporter of goods is worried that after sending you the goods, the invoice will remain  unpaid after the agreed payment period. What if the client does not accept the goods in the harbor? He would then have to arrange for new transport to return the goods or try to find new clients in a short period of time.

There is a lot of risk for both parties especially when they do not know each other very well or if they are located on different continents.

Letter of Credit

In this case a Letter of Credit could be a solution. With a Letter of Credit you make agreements with the exporter about the quality and the quantity of the goods that you buy, and how, when and where the goods will be shipped to.  Only if all terms and conditions of the Letter of Credit have been met the bank will pay the invoice. A lot of paper work will be part of the agreement for instance a Bills of Lading, a commercial invoice, a certificate of origin and an inspection certificate. As an additional security, the exporter can have the Letter of Credit confirmed by his bank.
In a nutshell this is the basic of how Letters of Credit (L/C) works.

Working Capital

Now you can ask the question how could this improve your working capital?

Firstly you will have more security that the payment will be made, therefore the risk of nonpayment will be reduced.

With trade finance you could also set up a line of credit based on your security and overall financial situation.

For the importer, he can finance the gap between paying the exporter and selling the goods to a buyer or use it for manufacturing purposes.

For the exporter, he can fund the gap between selling the goods and receiving payments from the buyer.

If there is not enough equity or there are no sufficient credit lines available, there is another option. Transaction Finance, hence the goods you will sell. [Export L/C] are used to fund [collateral] the buying of these same goods [Import L/C] This is called a Back to back L/C.

There could be a fly in the ointment, however! What happens when there is a mistake made in the paperwork? If this is a small mistake both parties would agree the transaction will go forward. But if during shipment the prices of the goods drop the importer will maybe not be very collaborative and will grab this opportunity to refuse the goods and not to pay the invoice!

Since the credit crisis the use of L/C’s went through the roof. If you need consultancy advise on this topic, drop us a line!

Olivier Werlingshoff - editor treasuryXL

 

Olivier Werlingshoff 

Group Treasury Director

 

 

 

More articles from this author:

How can payments improve your working capital?

Managing cash across borders

How to improve cash awareness without targets