Published: January 01, 2010
As a key player in global markets during 2009, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been privileged to engage in strategic dialogue with our corporate and financial institution clients.
RBS has helped corporate and financial institution clients to re-engineer their balance sheets, improve their liquidity positions, structure and fund acquisitions, and prepare themselves to achieve future business strategies. With others, we have considered their strategic options ahead of a potential economic recovery. RBS has been able to provide bespoke analysis and advice linked to actionable strategies by understanding our clients and their competitors, and by being, and staying, close to the equity, debt and derivatives markets.
Andrew Walker, Co-Head of Corporate Finance at RBS, commented: “We are delighted to receive this award for the third year running and grateful for the confidence our clients have again shown in RBS’ ability to innovate and provide complete corporate finance solutions in another year of challenging conditions. It is a testament to RBS’ client focus and confirms the success of our strategy to be a partner of choice for our leading clients. We look forward to working with our clients in 2010, and to the continuing challenge of providing the outstanding advice and service they require.”
Northern Trust works with some of the most sophisticated pension funds across the globe to deliver a range of innovative solutions to meet their increasingly sophisticated requirements. We currently provide asset servicing and asset management solutions to over 1000 pension funds globally.
Penelope Biggs, Head of Northern Trust’s Retirement Solutions Practice in EMEA says “We are honoured to be recognised by TMI for the solutions we offer to pensions and their sponsors and the work of our dedicated Retirement Solutions Practice. This single advisory group was launched in early 2009 and brings together industry experts from both the asset management and asset servicing side of our organisation to help pensions navigate the evolving retirement market.”
Through the Retirement Solutions Practice Northern Trust is sharing their knowledge and understanding of pensions, investments, government and regulatory issues as well as proprietary research into market-related issues such as risk management, pan-European pensions and fiduciary management. With their diverse skill sets, and an average of 20 years’ experience, the knowledge and expertise of the individuals within the Retirement Solutions Practice is combined to provide different solutions and integrated strategies tailored to the needs of pension funds.
As pension funds around the world continue to face unprecedented challenges, Northern Trust and its dedicated Retirement Solutions Practice remain firmly focused on helping them to stay one step ahead in managing their pension funds. [[[PAGE]]]
Goldman Sachs Asset Management is one of the largest money market fund providers in the world, with over $270bn in money market assets globally (as at 30.09.09). In addition to our traditional AAA-rated commercial paper products, Goldman Sachs Asset Management offers three AAA-rated government funds that invest exclusively in highly rated government and agency securities for investors who are seeking an even more conservative investment. In serving clients’ liquidity management needs, we seek to deliver:
Preservation of Capital and Liquidity: Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s money market fund objective remains consistent: to seek preservation of capital while offering same-day liquidity. Our money market funds have maintained a stable NAV for the entire period since Goldman Sachs began managing money in 1981. The funds offer daily access to the full amount invested.
Credit Risk Management: We believe Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s risk management process differs from competitors through its use of GS & Co Credit Department – a separate operating entity within the firm. Through daily interaction with the Goldman Sachs credit department, our portfolio managers strive to maintain the portfolios within high quality standards.
Diversification Benefits: We believe that portfolio diversification is the most effective way to address counterparty risk. Our AAA-rated money market funds invest in broadly diversified and high quality portfolios of assets; with limited exposure to any single issuer.
Outstanding Client Service: Goldman Sachs prides itself on its commitment to client service. Our aim is to meet clients’ individual needs through our network of dedicated professionals, who ensure ongoing, efficient service to help support complete money market solutions.
Jason Singer, Managing Director, Global Liquidity Portfolio Management commented: “ We are delighted to receive the TMI Award for Best Money Market Funds in Europe. Our investment policy and philosophy has not changed in the 28 years we have been managing money market assets. We remain committed to our conservative approach, focusing on effectively managing portfolios by preserving capital and maintaining a high degree of liquidity.”
J.P. Morgan Asset Management, the investment management arm of JPMorgan Chase, offers a range of comprehensive global short-term and medium-term investment solutions, from AAA-rated liquidity funds to customised short-term fixed income portfolios. A combination of these products can assist our clients to achieve the liquidity, security, risk and return profile they desire.
When entrusting your liquidity investments with J.P. Morgan Asset Management you can be sure that you are investing with a market leader. By building a reputation for investment quality, performance and first-class service, we have become the world’s largest provider of institutional AAA-rated liquidity funds, managing over USD 541 billion on behalf of our clients*. This scale gives us strong purchasing power and creates exceptional levels of liquidity and diversification for our clients. We offer the widest range of AAA-rated liquidity funds available in USD, GBP, EUR, JPY, SGD and RMB**, and we are a market leader in both USD and EUR government-only liquidity funds.*
”We established a dedicated presence in Asia over 5 years ago, and we continue to seek opportunities to be innovative to meet our clients’ liquidity needs. Throughout the financial crisis, we placed a large emphasis on transparency and client education. We are extremely proud to receive this award from Treasury Management International for the second year as a reflection of our clients’ confidence in our money market funds and our continued commitment to the Asia region. 2010 continues to be a challenging environment for treasurers managing short-term cash reserves, and our client advisors across the region welcome the opportunity to work closely with our clients to find the best overall liquidity solutions”, said Travis Spence, Head of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Global Liquidity business in Asia.
* iMoneyNet, as of 31/10/2009
** RMB for qualified China domiciled investors only. The RMB fund is managed by China International Fund Management Co. Ltd (CIFM), a joint venture with J.P. Morgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd. in China. [[[PAGE]]]
Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI), the asset management arm of Northern Trust, is a multi-asset class manager offering a broad array of investment solutions for sophisticated institutional investors. The firm manages over US$600bn in total assets of which over US$200bn represents cash and short duration portfolios*. It has experience of managing money market funds for almost 30 years.
“We are delighted to have been selected for the award of best money market fund for North America. Cash and short duration is at the heart of our asset management business and this award validates our conservative and client-focused approach,” says David Rothon, Director of Global Cash and Fixed Income Product Management.
As one of the world’s largest and most experienced global cash managers NTGI delivers innovative solutions to institutional investors across a diversified range of US and Dublin based triple A-rated liquidity funds for US dollars, sterling and euro currencies, including a suite of government liquidity funds for international and US investors (as well as Municipal Funds for US investors). The Northern Trust government liquidity funds were designed to provide clients with a high quality investment alternative for their cash balances in response to instability in the banking sector and financial markets. Having a suite of government, treasury and municipal style liquidity funds has given clients the ability to employ a robust asset allocation within the cash investment marketplace.
Steve Everett, Global Director of Balance Sheet & Operating Assets, adds, “We look forward to working closely with our clients and continuing our success into 2010, having recently added resources to both our portfolio management and business development teams to strengthen our cash management capabilities.”
NTGI has over 500 institutional clients invested in its US and Dublin based money market funds representing a diverse client base including corporations, insurance companies, central banks, local government authorities and pension funds amongst others. Having such a diverse client base has created a high level of strength and stability for NTGI’s money market fund complex.
*as at 30th September 2009
We are delighted to have won this award at the end of our most successful year to date across corporate treasury. Risk remains an incredibly important issue for treasurers and we pride ourselves in an ongoing investment into safeguarding our clients and providing them with the real-time view and information necessary to manage across their counterparty, exposure, and infrastructure risk. Whether operating through our leading integrated Wallstreet Suite solution, Wallstreet Treasury Software-as-a-Service, or by use of the newly launched Treasury on the Move solution, we ensure our clients sleep at night. Furthermore, with our 100% track record in implementation we make sure they get to sleep from the outset!
Wallstreet Suite continues to be the solution of choice for the world’s leading organisations with the most complex treasury requirements. The solution combines depth of functionality with seamless integration by enabling all cash management, trading, funding and investment activities to be automated, audited, consolidated, and accounted for, instantaneously and globally. The solution simplifies operations, and enables efficiencies of up to tens of millions of dollars – whilst helping to provide immediate identification of exposures in a negative market event. This year some notable corporations have selected Wallstreet, joining existing clients such as P&G, Daimler, GE, and BP, and become part of our user base responsible for driving strategic treasury forward.
Wallstreet Treasury SaaS has seen record growth during 2009 as the SaaS model becomes recognised and respected as an enabler to transformational business change. Our new clients have chosen the ‘treasurer’s desktop’ bringing together the core functionality of Wallstreet Treasury and integrated best of breed partners under one efficient and importantly scalable framework.
Wall Street Systems plans for 2010 include ongoing support of clients across the globe, excellence in onboarding new clients, and driving innovation to meet the future demands of corporate treasury. [[[PAGE]]]
SunGard’s AvantGard helps organisations to overcome the challenges surrounding liquidity management by offering holistic applications designed to drive stringent treatment of trade receivables, sophisticated treasury and cash management and coordinated execution of payment processing.
The AvantGard solutions help foster transparency and improved efficiencies in the corporate commercial EcoSystem, a strategy that is reshaping how organisations manage receivables, treasury and payments by networking these processes into a complete organisational view of cash and risk. By helping buyers, suppliers, banks and other trading partners reduce friction and increase the velocity of free cash flow, our customers can more easily track cash flows, capital allocation, capital at risk and intraday liquidity. This helps them to maximise the intrinsic value of their corporation by optimising, predicting and protecting their liquidity.
“We are proud to receive these awards from Treasury Management International and appreciate this acknowledgement of our work,” said Ken Dummitt, president of SunGard’s AvantGard. “At SunGard, we believe in creating strong partnerships with our customers to help them work across their EcoSystem of buyers, suppliers, banks and other trading partners. By listening to and working closely with our customers, we help them improve efficiencies and connectivity through their financial supply chains, helping to create transparency into cash flow and risk.”
AvantGard takes a holistic view of customer services and support. By offering a full suite of services such as hosting, application management and system integration as well as traditional technical support and consulting services, companies can benefit from expert delivery of receivables, treasury and payments solutions. AvantGard uses a consultative approach to help organisations identify areas for improvement, as well as establish and embed best practices for increased return on investment.
For organisations that opt to outsource the management of applications, SunGard offers secure hosting in a SunGard data facility as well as domain expert management of applications. From consulting services for business, technology or IT engagements, system back-up and recovery, our qualified professionals can help corporations to drive their business strategies.
“We are very focused on our customers and are continuously striving to find new ways of supporting their business objectives. We also realise that hosting capabilities and working with one vendor across the EcoSystem is important. As such, our dedicated staff has put a great deal of work into supporting our customers in these areas and we are pleased that TMI has recognised our efforts,” said Jim Mangano, senior vice president of global client services,[[[PAGE]]]
In today’s volatile market, companies must manage risk. They also cannot afford additional overhead when valuing financial instruments, performing hedge effectiveness testing and measurement, and maintaining compliance with international accounting regulations. “Treasury professionals today must navigate these challenging waters with very limited resources,” says Jiro Okochi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Reval. “Reval’s job is to provide them with the functionality and solutions that allow them to work smarter, not harder.”
Reval, a global leader in derivative risk management and hedge accounting solutions and services, provides financial and accounting professionals with an award-winning Software-as-a-Service Web-based solution that addresses the need for derivatives to comply with international regulations, such as FAS 133, FAS 157, Sarbanes-Oxley, IAS 39 and IFRS 7.
The combination of market volatility, tightening budgets and increasingly stringent regulatory standards has created increased demand for Reval’s solutions. The world’s leading corporations, financial institutions, and accounting and advisory firms rely on Reval to provide independent valuations of derivative transactions and to assist with the hedge accounting of foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, commodities, and other asset classes.
Whether through Reval®, its standalone Web-based solution, or Reval Center™, its outsourced offering for hedge accounting and independent derivative valuations, Reval has helped over 375 global corporations and financial institutions manage their derivatives and comply with evolving global accounting standards. As companies around the world continue to struggle with accurate credit-adjusted valuations, Reval also provides enhanced capabilities of credit-adjusted valuations that seamlessly integrate with hedge accounting standards.
“As global accounting regulations continue to evolve, treasury and accounting teams around the world can feel confident that they will satisfy their auditors’ compliance requirements, employing Reval to manage their derivatives, plain vanilla or complex,” says Okochi. Reval’s flexibility provides a variety of options for any corporation, under any accounting standard, to value vanilla or structured instruments, calculate fair values, account for credit and assess and measure hedge effectiveness, whether by performing these tasks on a client’s behalf or providing clients with the right tools and expertise to perform these tasks using the Reval solution.
During the past year, Reval experienced a sharp increase in demand for its outsourced service, Reval Center. Having neither the time nor in-house expertise, clients of this service rely on Reval to value their financial instruments and/or provide hedge accounting documentation and reporting to ensure compliance with stringent accounting standards. Reval has also seen an increase in the number of large global conglomerates simply looking for an economical solution for valuing small derivative portfolios. For clients not applying hedge accounting treatment, Reval Center experts will perform these valuations, including credit adjustments, from simple, plain vanilla to even the most complex, exotic derivative instruments. Reval’s financial engineers and market data team, steeped in their understanding of derivatives, accounting and technology, provide the backbone to a global operations team that service its expanding client base. Clients range from small to mid-size corporations and financial institutions.
“Once again, it is an honour to be recognised in TMI’s annual awards for the fourth year in a row,” Okochi says. “I would like to thank our clients worldwide for voting us ‘Best Treasury Provider of Hedge Accounting Solutions’ again and recognising our continued dedication to listening to them and enhancing our solutions and services to keep them satisfied.“
Reval, founded in 1999, has headquarters in New York with regional centres based in Bala Cynwyd, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Gurgaon. For more information, visit www.reval.com or email [email protected]. [[[PAGE]]]
360T is a leading global provider of progressive web-based trading technology for OTC financial instruments, enabling the buy side to trade multiple asset classes simultaneously with multiple liquidity providers in ‘request-for-quote’ and ‘executable streams’ mode. Based on its scalable and dynamic core technology, 360T operates its cross-product multi bank portal with deep liquidity of more than 70+ global market-makers and is a provider of state-of-the-art white label / intra-group trading technology.
Cross-product multi-bank portal
TEX® Multidealer Trading System is a global multi-bank portal with liquidity in multiple financial instruments. Corporate treasuries, public sector, institutionals and buy-side banks trade FX, MM and IR Derivatives and other instruments with market maker banks of their choice. TEX® provides a real-time market data screen and allows requests (RFQ) of streamed quotes with one or two click to execution. TEX® delivers an unmatched range of functionality and liquidity across many instruments including FX spot/forward, multiple forwards, swaps, , options, NDF’s, limit orders, MM loans, deposits, FRA, as well as IR swaps and caps/floors. Applicable instruments are optionally tradable in two-way mode. ‘Rollover’ and ‘early settlement’ are supported. TEX® allows to buy, sell and monitor 100+ AAA funds in US dollar, sterling and euro via a ‘one-stop-shop’ in cooperation with www.ICDfunds.com.
Intra-group / white label trading solution I-TEX®
I-TEX® Intra-Group Trading System is a robust trading technology allowing for manual and automated pricing of RFQ’s and several order types to a flexibly scaleable group of subsidiaries or end clients. I-TEX® allows group treasuries or banks to offer professional electronic trading services (if suitable on a proprietary branded platform) to a closed user group. Plug-and-play rollout and intuitive logic allow for instant adoption. A real-time market data feed and back-to-back liquidity from 70+ providers facilitates 24-hour availability of competitive pricing.
“Winning this prestigious award for three consecutive years clearly underlines the quality of our offering and our strong position in the market”, says Alfred Schorno, Member of the Board at 360T. “Our strong service orientation and the continuous innovation and enhancements for our portal - such as the well-appreciated block trading function launched recently, the new limit order management tool and also an easy-to-use counterpart relationship management tool - have helped us to strengthen our leading position globally and especially among corporate treasuries. We would like to thank all our clients who voted for us and can assure our ongoing commitment to serving their needs also in the coming years.”
Alfred Schorno, Member of the Board 360T.
MyTreasury is a multi-product, multi-bank, multi-currency portal designed specifically to meet the cash management needs of corporate treasurers. It is the only portal that has been designed by treasurers for treasurers and is the only one that has been developed outside the US, ensuring it is flexible enough to handle alternative trading models in different regions. The MyTreasury model is based on full disclosure between corporates and funds or banks rather than on omnibus trading. This means that the platform reinforces corporate relationships with funds and banks who will always know who is investing with them.
Most of the major offshore fund providers are either already participating or are in advanced discussions with the MyTreasury team. The platform currently carries 22 fund providers with over 176 investable share classes. Six more fund providers are currently being brought onto the platform allowing us to offer all those providers who have signed up to the Institutional Money Market Fund Association Code of Practice.
The popularity of MyTreasury is reflected in a 300% growth in users between April and October 2009. The diversity of the MyTreasury user base, ranging from small local governments with one or two fund accounts to global organisations with over 50 accounts, also illustrates the unique combination of simplicity in use and powerful risk control that users value so highly.
MyTreasury is the only MMF portal integrated with the fund administrators and as a result is the only provider able to offer fully automated trade execution. Investors using the platform receive major benefits from the MyTreasury/SWIFT automation service which eliminates all manual processing and the potential trading errors and failures that inevitably go with this.
Where the level of trading activity requires it, MyTreasury can also be integrated directly into an investor’s own treasury management system via a flexible hub offering SWIFT, FIX, web services or secure ftp capabilities.
Justin Meadows, Chief Executive of MyTreasury, said “We are delighted to receive the TMI award for the second year running and believe that it is recognition of both the high technical quality of our platform and the comprehensive support we provide to all our users. We are now building on our success and have begun a development programme to extend operations into the US and Asia/Pacific regions whilst adding onshore MMFs, Term Deposits, Certificates of Deposit and FX to our portfolio in the short term, followed by Repos and Commercial Paper.” [[[PAGE]]]
IT2 Treasury Solutions is a leading provider of best practice treasury management solutions to a wide range of corporate treasuries and financial institutions. IT2’s professional ethos is based on the delivery to our clients of solutions founded on our core competencies of treasury expertise, software innovation and service excellence.
The IT2 treasury management system is a fully integrated system solution that supports treasury in its entirety, fulfilling cash and liquidity management, debt and investment, financial risk, treasury accounting and hedge accounting requirements.
IT2’s solution spectrum helps treasuries with:
Governance: achieving visibility of enterprise-wide cash and financial risk, combined with transparent treasury policy compliance and market sensitive counterparty exposure management;
Key controls: implementing secure operations that support regulatory compliance;
Efficiency: automating treasury process management, with fully integrated treasury operations, documentation and real-time operational reporting.
IT2’s process-orientated approach to treasury management offers seamless STP front-middle-back office workflows. IT2 is shipped with a comprehensive set of best practice libraries, of treasury processes, reports, dashboards and real time workbenches; these assure new clients of streamlined implementations, and operational clients of secure, controlled and fully transparent operations.
IT2’s workflows may be scaled and edited by authorised personnel to fulfil client-specific policies for process design, control and documentation, so that solutions combine high levels of flexibility with robust security.
IT2 clients enjoy the benefits of a fully automated and integrated treasury, cash, financial risk and treasury accounting solution that eliminates the risks and inefficiencies associated with manual operations, spreadsheets and outdated technology. IT2 therefore liberates the client team’s time and creative energies for concentration on their professional activities.
Founded in 1982, IT2 Treasury Solutions is located in London, New York and Hong Kong. IT2 serves over 220 clients worldwide, including Etihad Airways, GSK plc, Hysan Development Co., Pirelli International, Tyco International, Volkswagen International Finance and Volvo Financial Services.
“I am naturally delighted that IT2 has won TMI’s Best Back Office and Accounting Solution 2009 award. This success reflects the sustained good work of the IT2 Product Management, Development, Implementation and Client Support teams. I would especially like to thank all those TMI readers who voted for us.” Kevin Grant, Chief Executive Officer, IT2 Treasury Solutions. [[[PAGE]]]
Many corporations are challenged by lack of infrastructure to support routing and approval of payments. As a result, these corporations continue to rely on spreadsheets and manual processes. The outcome is poor visibility to cash out-flows, high operational costs and risk of fraud. Compounding these challenges, many companies also depend on a fragmented array of systems for connectivity to SWIFT, Banks, ACH and check printing systems.
The AvantGard Payments solution offers a unique payments suite for streamlining the processing of payments helping to improve routing, connectivity and integration; reduce transactional and operational costs; increase security; and improve the management of payment information, exceptions and statement flows.
“With increasing attention being paid to the topic of liquidity, corporations are under increasing pressure to devise ways of managing their cash more effectively. Many corporations, however, continue using decentralised methods that are resulting in poor visibility and high operational costs as well as introducing the possibility for fraud-related risk. AvantGard Payments can help by providing corporations with a centralised payment platform that facilitates straight-though-processing (STP) and promotes centralised connectivity with banks and other trading partners,” said Andrew Owens, managing director of global payments in SunGard’s AvantGard Corporations business.
Companies increasingly view the management of working capital, particularly accounts receivable, as an important measure of a company’s financial health. Historically, these operations have been highly inefficient as a result of the lack of integrated systems being used to manage the order-to-cash cycle.
SunGard’s AvantGard addresses this challenge by providing a fully integrated, Web-based order-to-cash solution that enables companies to achieve significant financial and operational benefits. AvantGard Receivables drives automation, workflow and collaboration across the order-to-cash cycle, with detailed analysis and reporting capabilities for facilitating decision support.
“Efficient and effective receivables management is integral to the financial stability of any corporation. By automating workflows around credit and collections processing and management and adding transparency, a company is empowered to unlock hidden cash, enhance compliance management and improve customer service with greater response time. SunGard’s AvantGard provides corporations with visibility and a proactive approach to collections management in order to help them improve cash flow and reduce bad debt expense. We are thankful that our hard work and success in Receivables have been recognised by TMI and are proud to receive this award,” said C.J. Wimley, executive vice president of corporate solutions at SunGard’s AvantGard Corporations business. [[[PAGE]]]
This is the fourth year that TMI awards a prize for the Best Tax Consultant and it is also the fourth consecutive time that PricewaterhouseCoopers has won the award. The PwC treasury tax professionals blend the tax expertise from the international tax practice and the financial services industry. The close co-operation with the PwC treasury consultants led by Sebastian di Paola adds a flavour that is unique in the tax consulting arena. This mix results in a tax expertise that is unique and tailor-made for treasurers around the world. Philippe Vyncke, treasury tax partner based in Belgium, says “We are proud that the value of this approach is clearly recognised by the TMI readers. The award confirm that the PwC approach meets the tax needs and concerns of treasurers”.
From a tax point of view the following areas are the most relevant in the current financial and economic climate:
For further information, please contact your local PwC tax contact or email [email protected]
This is the ninth consecutive occasion on which PricewaterhouseCoopers has won the award for Best Treasury Consultant. PwC operates a multidisciplinary Corporate Treasury consulting practice, comprising more than 300 experienced consulting, accounting and taxation professionals. The Group includes ex-practitioners from many leading corporations, international banks and system vendors. This team has successfully implemented treasury change for many leading corporations and established an enviable track record of successful solutions-based, project work, a fact clearly recognised by TMI readers.
Particular areas of focus for PwC’s services to corporates in the treasury space include:
In 2010, PwC’s treasury team will be releasing the latest in its series of treasury surveys. This year’s survey will focus on the aftermath of the financial crisis, and will address what treasury functions have learnt through the crisis and how practices are changing for the future. For further details or to take part in the survey, contact your local PwC treasury contact or email [email protected].
Sebastian di Paola, Partner in charge of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ European Treasury Consulting practice, says: “We are delighted to have once again been successful in the TMI Awards and I take this opportunity to thank the numerous clients who voted for PwC in this category. We are all extremely proud to get this recognition from the market. The award recognises the efforts of our teams of treasury experts around the world and the outstanding and consistent level of service they have been delivering to our clients over the years. As a team, we are committed to continuing our efforts to provide the industry with thought leadership and innovative solutions and to helping to take our client’s treasury functions to the next level of performance.” [[[PAGE]]]
How Thought Leadership Can Reduce the Cost of Sales by Patrik Havander, Havander & Partners A focused attention on the costs incurred by the global sales and marketing processes is becoming increasingly important for corporate banks and their transaction banking departments. While the client/bank relationship remains vital, research has shown that in fact relationship selling […]
