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May 2010
12 May 2010
The ash from Iceland has taken an umprecidated toll on an already suffering airline industry in Europe. Yet, even now - some weeks after the volcano blew - it continues to exert pressure on businesses and travellers alike. Even more deleterious however, fallout from the Greek debt crisis still has the potential to swathe Europe in a cloud of even greater consequence. As Drew Hillier reports, do these ill winds spell contagion?
Most experts predict how the recent ash-induced fly ban will most likely trigger a tranche of consolidation across the generally unprofitable European airline industry. Focusing on how such an overdue trimming plays out in the United Kingdom - already in the throes of election fever acerbated by expectations of a hung parliament - George T. Dowd III, First Vice President, Head of Chicago Foreign Exchange, Newedge Group, points out how, in addition to election uncertainty, "the effect on the Pound Sterling has been predictable. It has traded in a very defensive manner after being unable to sustain any rally above 1.5500 vs the US Dollar.
12 May 2010
While the debate still continues over whether mandatory clearing will be imposed on non-financial corporates, clearing for bilaterally-traded FX swaps and forwards looks as though it will become a reality for financial firms. Frances Maguire looks at the options.
The impact of moving over the counter products either on-exchange or into central counterparty clearing (CCPs) is still being debated, especially if corporates, which rely upon interest rate and currency swaps for hedging, will have to tie up capital in paying daily margins to trade these instruments, or simply reduce their hedging strategies.
12 May 2010
Online Forex Broker Tadawul FX, (TDFX) is a leading Swiss and European online forex and commodity Broker focused on providing premium brokerage services via its MetaTrader 4 trading system. TDFX was founded in 2006 by its multi-lingual CEO, Ramzi Chamat, originally from Lebanon, who grew up in Switzerland. Speaking to FX&MM editor Drew Hillier, Ramzi - having taken time out prior to flying out on a business trip to Eastern Europe - shares his vision, business ethos and thoughts for the future.
12 May 2010
The impact of the financial crisis on credit and lending has put that financial supply chain management, the importance of banking relationships, back in the spotlight. Frances Maguire reports.
Supply chain financing goes far beyond debits and credits; it is much more than a treasury or finance function, affecting all parts of the company's operations, in that it provided a lifeline to companies during the financial crisis. As well as generating additional liquidity, better financial supply chain management results in automating and streamlining operations and improved working capital management to not only reduce companies' operational costs but improve cash flow, where credit has been re-priced and is harder to get.
12 May 2010
In the wake of one of the greatest financial crisis in recent times, emphasis shifted away from demand-fuelled expansion to a sharper focus on improving financial working capital management and supply chain efficiency and reliability. Some leading companies had already moved into this space after years of re-engineering their physical supply chain. However, the crisis led corporates to take a harder look at their financial supply chains, to wring out as much value as possible. What they have found is that banks, such as Barclays, can be instrumental partners in delivering their financial supply chain goals.
12 May 2010
Many smaller and mid-tier European banks that offer cross border payments services are buckling under the strain of increasing economic, market and regulatory forces. Dominic Broom, Managing Director and Head of Market Development EMEA for BNY Mellon Treasury Services, discusses how a new partnership model can help them overcome these hurdles.
As regulatory requirements increasingly take centre-stage in the financial world, many smaller and mid-tier banks are finding that certain lines of business that were once profitable, such as cross-border payments processing, are now becoming something of a liability. This has acted as a significant contributing factor to what may be termed a banking divide, with smaller banks finding that they are unable to keep up with the pace of developments while remaining profitable.
12 May 2010
A combination of the changing nature of global trade and a heightened sensitivity towards liquidity and risk management are driving the take-up of financial supply chain management solutions, say Deutsche Bank's Alexander Mutter, Director of Trade & Supply Chain Solutions EMEA and Shivkumar Seerapu, Global Product Head for Financial Supply Chain Solutions.
While the development of financial supply chain (FSC) management has been underway for some years, the financial crisis of late-2008 and 2009 undoubtedly accelerated the adoption of these solutions. Indeed, thanks to restricted access to capital markets and an increased focus on working capital management, corporate interest in this area surged during the crisis and has since continued to show strong growth.
12 May 2010
Growing international trade between emerging markets and between developed and emerging markets, paired with the still ongoing global economic crisis has put its finger on an important issue; the physical supply chain must be supported by an equally important and well functioning financial supply chain. The financial supply chain works like oil in the engine, making things run more smoothly without malfunctions. Ideally corporates should be able to mitigate risks such as suppliers going bankrupt or goods being stuck somewhere due to lack of financial solutions or financial strength. Another important aspect of international trade is of course to apply the right tools to deal with currency fluctuations. The list can be made long of possible results from a poor functioning financial supply chain that could negatively affect a company's focus on its core business. We have all seen that, especially during and in the wake of the financial turmoil.
12 May 2010
From the technology vendor's perspective - as Marcus Hughes, Director of Global Marketing, Bottomline Technologies discusses -large electronic payment and invoicing networks make it easier for corporates and banks to quickly capture the benefits of supply chain finance, more quickly and at a lower total cost of ownership.
Reverse factoring - benefits for all
A growing number of transaction banks are implementing supplier finance programmes for their large credit-worthy customers who wish to support their supply chain partners. Reverse factoring is the most popular model, enabling banks to provide suppliers with finance at a lower cost than they would normally achieve through direct credit facilities. The credit arbitrage is achieved by the bank securing an undertaking from the buyer (who has a higher credit rating than the suppliers) to settle all invoices at maturity. By financing the buyer's approved payables, the bank mitigates transaction and fraud risk.
12 May 2010
25-26 May Treasury, Risk and Cash Management Conference in East Africa. Nairobi, Kenya
In the Kenyan village of Iten, lying some 8,000 feet above the Rift Valley, it seems that everyone can run the marathon in under two-and-a-quarter hours. Elsewhere, more likely than not, this would be a national record, yet in Kenya, it's almost commonplace. Indeed, just recently, a little-known Kenyan runner, Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, won this year's Boston Marathon in a course record time of 2:05:52, along with prize money totalling $150,000.
12 May 2010
Since the credit crunch saw some of our biggest banking institutions fold like a house of cards, companies across all industries have been sharpening their organisational focus on risk. As the dust begins to settle, the future shape of the post-crunch landscape is still uncertain. The only real certainty is that while companies are looking inward, tougher external regulation is approaching, and fast. This new regime has far-reaching implications for risk management for all insurers, argues Logan Nerio, financial consultant at Baringa Partners - a UK-based management consultancy focused on the financial services industry, wholesale and retail energy markets, and the utilities sector.
12 May 2010
If nations are serious about curbing climate change, global economic growth in its current form cannot continue. So says Andrew Simms, Policy Director of the New Economics Foundation (Nef), who warns that the consumer society cannot "have its planet and eat it."
From birth until it reaches sexual maturity at about six weeks, a hamster doubles its weight each week. However, to extrapolate the hypothesis expounded by Andrew Simms, if - instead of leveling off in maturity, said hamster carried on growing, continuing to double its weight each week - we would be facing a nine-billion-ton beastie by the time it reached its first birthday! Furthermore, if it kept eating at the same ratio of food to bodyweight, the hamster's daily intake would be greater than the total amount of maize currently produced worldwide per year!
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