RebeccaBrace

Adapt or die

Rebecca — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:25:48 +0000

Treasury Perspectives – 2012-2013

Money market funds in the balance

Money market funds are widely used by treasurers as a secure and liquid investment vehicle for surplus cash – but will this remain the case if proposed regulatory changes come to pass?

Risk tops the agenda in Europe

Rebecca — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:18:10 +0000

Treasury & Risk – August 2012

Treasurers keep a close eye on European banks and monitor CDS spreads to supplement credit ratings.

The Greek elections in June may have averted the most immediate challenge to the eurozone, but for treasurers of companies operating in Europe, the threat of a euro break-up remains all too real. A survey of UK CFOs published by Deloitte in July found 36% of respondents expect one or more countries to leave the euro by the end of 2012…

Upwardly Mobile

Rebecca — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:08:21 +0000

Treasury Perspectives – 2012-2013

Mobile payment technology has enjoyed enormous success in Kenya and other emerging markets – but what are the opportunities for the treasurers of multinational corporations? Can you make it pay?

‘Mobile payments’ has become something of a buzz phrase in recent years, but it means different things to different people. The range of technologies and initiatives included under the umbrella of mobile payments is particularly wide, covering everything from mobile money schemes in emerging markets to mobile commerce and mobile banking technology.

The new one-stop shop

Rebecca — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:18:28 +0000

Global Finance – June 2012

Liquidity management is the latest corporate treasury process to get the one-stop-shop treatment by big banks and solution vendors.

A few years have passed since the financial crisis propelled liquidity management to the top of the corporate treasurer’s priority list. What is surprising is that it has topped the agenda for so long, thanks to the ongoing crises being experienced worldwide since 2007.

A right old fix

Rebecca — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:42:06 +0000

Raconteur – March 2012 The wild price swings for raw materials over the past few years have highlighted the need for companies to find a strategy that works for them.

Commodity price inflation can be a significant headache for businesses, presenting them with two unappealing options: accept lower profits or pass higher input costs on to customers. Neither is this issue limited to manufacturers; any company that uses electricity, transportation or even paper is exposed to some degree of commodity price risk.

SEPA’s tight deadline

Rebecca — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:02:57 +0000

Treasury & Risk – March 2012 Migrating to the single payments area in two years poses a real challenge.

Europe is one big step closer to payments integration with the announcement that the deadline for migration to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has been set for Feb. 1, 2014, a deadline ratified in February by the European Parliament. Aside from the headline 2014 date, existing niche schemes which represent less than 10% of credit transfer or direct debit payment volumes in a particular country have until 2016 to migrate to the SEPA credit transfer (SCT) and SEPA direct debit (SDD) schemes.

Weighing FX Options

Rebecca — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:11:01 +0000

Treasury & Risk – February 2012 As treasurers in Europe look to shield their companies from a possible breakup of the euro, the argument for using FX options becomes harder to ignore.

Treasurers are no strangers to currency volatility—the events of 2008, when volatility hit unprecedented highs, still feel very recent to most in the industry. But while volatility in the currency markets has generally subsided since then, the prospect of a euro breakup is keeping this topic uppermost in treasurers’ minds.

Babel Revisited

Rebecca — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:23:45 +0000

Financial-i – Q4 2011

The new ISO 20022 standards may promise to streamline payments, but the system is being hampered by slow takeup and a lack of cohesion and regulation. There needs to be a more defined global implementation process, reports Rebecca Brace.

The Future of Money Funds

Rebecca — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:18:05 +0000

Treasury & Risk – November 2011 Can constant NAV funds survive the latest wave of regulatory changes?

Money-market funds (MMFs) have had no shortage of attention since 2008, when the Reserve Primary fund broke the buck in the wake of Lehman’s collapse, leading to a run on money funds in the United States. That led to a steady flow of regulatory initiatives around the globe that affected money-market funds: Amendments to Rule 2a-7 reduced maturity limits and increased the liquidity of U.S. money funds, while the London-based industry association, the Institutional Money Market Funds Association (IMMFA), updated its own Code of Practice along similar lines. Meanwhile ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service updated its rating methodologies for money funds.

Viva Roma

Rebecca — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:50:16 +0000

This week I’m in Rome for EuroFinance’s 20th International Cash and Treasury Management conference, which starts tomorrow. It’s certainly an interesting time for treasurers and I’m looking forward to talking treasury for the next three days. Do drop me a line if you have any words of wisdom to share on your biggest challenges and priorities this year.