How Treasury Sets the Controls for the Heart of the Bank

TREASURY ANGLES

While bank treasury shares some similarities with its corporate counterpart, there are also some key differences that shed considerable light on how banks operate. Following on from TMI’s recent look at the fundamentals of this side of the treasury coin, we talk to Simon Atkins, European Head, Treasury and Financial Markets, ABC International Bank, to see how it works in practice.

London-headquartered ABC International Bank (ABCIB) is part of Bahrain-based Bank ABC Group. It acts as the latter’s European hub, supporting trade and investment between Europe and the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. Major shareholders are the Central Bank of Libya and Kuwait Investment Authority.

As treasurer responsible for ABCIB, its European subsidiary, and a full UK branch of Bank ABC Group, Atkins’ remit stretches across three balance sheets and jurisdictions. This naturally presents different challenges in terms of handling their respective laws, regulators, currencies, products, and clients. At a high level, his main duties relate to managing liquidity, interest rate and currency mismatches, ensuring regulatory and business compliance across these geographies.

“One of my first duties is to liaise with the Head of Corporate Treasury on all activities across those three balance sheets, in terms of funding requirements,” he explains. This might concern any of the day’s fixings, drawings, or upcoming commitments. “It gives us a grounding in the money coming in or going out the door, any currency-related issues we need to manage, and what necessary measures we need to take in the market to make sure we’re OK.”

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