Rise of the In-House Bank

by Bruce Meuli, Global Business Solutions Engagement Executive, Global Transaction Services EMEA, and Vincent Meier, Product Manager, Managed Treasury & Liquidity Services, Global Transaction Services EMEA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch 

An in-house bank (IHB) can be the pinnacle of treasury centralisation, and more companies are choosing to take this step. However, diligent planning is required to make the implementation a success. For some companies, having a part of the structure managed by a dedicated provider can deliver further efficiency and cost benefits.

Bringing together disparate processes is a cornerstone of any efficiency drive – and a number of different tools and techniques are available which can help corporate treasurers achieve this. Where a high degree of consolidation is required, treasurers will often consider adopting a centralised structure such as a shared service centre, payment factory or IHB.

While an IHB tends to be a latter step in the maturity pathway of treasury centralisation, the operational and organisational structures that a company implements, and the order in which they do so, will be heavily influenced by a range of factors including – legal, regulatory, operational capability and business drivers.  Shared service centres, payment factories, centres of excellence and/or regional treasury centres all have defined purposes. An IHB will always have a pivotal role in conjunction with these structures – either as a operational centre which has direct responsibility for some of these other structures, or as a key enterprise partner.

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