1. SPONSORED INTERVIEW
Understanding
today’s treasury
trends
Michael Spiegel, Head of Trade Finance and Cash Management Corporates
at Deutsche Bank, reviews the changing role and expanding remit of the
corporate treasurer in light of today’s challenges.
How has the function of the corporate treasurer, Has there been a change in the role for the
and the treasury department, evolved following treasury department?
the credit crisis?
The role of the treasury department has certainly become more
The credit crisis greatly constricted liquidity and uncovered prominent within corporations of all sizes, and its responsibilities
weaknesses in relationships with suppliers and in some cases, have been broadened. This has resulted in an increase in
distributors. In terms of treasury management, this has authority and profile, which has come at a time when fiscal
brought two main areas into the spotlight: cash management, resources have decreased and the number of staff available has
and supply chain sustainability. remained flat or even been reduced. This means that treasurers
Whereas cash management was once primarily concerned are under growing pressure to ‘do more with less’.
with cash management centralization, the focus is now on In light of this, treasurers are considering how they can
cash flow optimization and ease-of-access to company funds. further increase synergies and streamline internal business
Both of these require enhanced cash management capabilities processes. We have seen many discussions around payment
to minimize borrowing needs and increase efficiency, visibility factories. Some of the largest multinational companies have
and control. established payment factories through their shared service
These three elements – efficiency, visibility and centres and there has been growing discussion on this
control – are crucial for the optimization of working capital subject. We are now seeing procurement engaging in these
management. This, now more than ever, is a key area of focus conversations and becoming increasingly more involved.
for corporates. As access to affordable liquidity remains However, there is a lot more that can be done in this area.
restricted, they are looking to maximize the funds they
already have by significantly pushing out days payable and How does this effect corporates’ banking
reducing days receivable to ensure the longevity of their relationships?
commercial cycles.
This in turn has resulted in an increasing corporate focus We find that large corporates, and also increasingly mid-
on the sustainability of their entire supply chains. Many are cap clients, are placing greater focus on sophisticated and
now taking a growing interest in what is happening to their sustainable cash solutions – in line with the escalating focus
suppliers and, where applicable, their distributors. This is on implementing a long-term business model. As a result,
in recognition of the fact that companies must look at the they are increasingly coming to leading solutions providers,
broader risk framework and how it may affect the extended such as Deutsche Bank, for expert advice on how to effectively
value chain. manage their liquidity.
For more information, please visit www.db.com/gtb.

2. SPONSORED INTERVIEW
Providing corporates with optimum liquidity management many file formats. This maximizes the true customization of
solutions at a global level is a significant undertaking. It our systems for individual corporate clients. Ideally, however,
requires a sophisticated network banking proposition and we would limit this, as keeping customization to a minimum
an international footprint. Deutsche Bank is one of a small ensures our systems remain stable. While meeting client
number of players that possess such capabilities. needs and ease-of-use are important, it should not be at the
Despite this limited choice, treasurers are ever more wary expense of platform stability.
of implementing a so-called ‘one bank’ strategy – preferring Integration and alignment are also key issues. Deutsche
provider-diversification to keep concentration risk low. Many Bank benefits greatly from integration across the Corporate
large corporates have investment policies that limit the and Investment Bank (CIB) on the coverage side. Corporates
amount of money they can place with one banking institution, now benefit from an integrated approach to provide them with
meaning they are more selective in choosing their transaction a full range of services. We can assess their internal processes
banking providers. to see how they may be streamlined and linked-up in the most
efficient way to drive improvements.
Trade finance has generated a lot of discussion this A further trend, both on the payables and increasingly on
year. Is this now a major priority for treasurers? the receivables side, is the auto-conversion of foreign exchange
(FX) to payment systems. A leading example of this trend is our
Indeed it is, and there has been both a re-emergence global multi-currency payments solution, FX4Cash.
of traditional trade finance instruments, as well as the FX4Cash is designed to give corporate clients access to a
introduction of more modern trade finance practices. In light broad range of currencies through a single platform, and the
of growing turmoil in the financial markets, corporates have ability to manage international, multi-currency payments
increasingly been looking for alternative funding sources that through a single window using a single account. This allows
offer more stability than the capital markets. clients to achieve greater efficiencies in treasury management
In particular, we have seen more interest in corporates by reducing idle balances and FX exposure. In addition, the
funding their suppliers or clients in order to keep the entire solution enables an end-to-end process flow, and introduces
supply chain liquid. At Deutsche Bank, we believe this trend efficiency, automation and visibility of price and information
will continue. The appeal of these solutions for corporates is into what had been – and in some cases remains – a relatively
that they can improve company cash flow and working capital labour-intensive and error-prone process.
management to free up funds for investments and to keep
commercial cycles turning in times of economic difficulty. What is Deutsche Bank’s main focus for the next year?
Where do you see the potential for enhancements We will continue to concentrate very strongly on the delivery
in technology and process management? of our services. I would characterize the delivery as being a
‘buying experience’. Deutsche Bank has made a quantum leap
There will be continued development in ‘bank agnostic’ delivery here, and our market-leading solutions and services will only
and information channels, such as SWIFT. Deutsche Bank has continue to get better.
a long history with SWIFT and continues to support it as more We will also strive to make further progress in terms of
and more corporates are showing interest in this channel. customer self-administration and client access channels. For
Looking at the broader picture, we are now continuing to example, Deutsche Bank has introduced its new Treasury
focus on technology, but with a higher level of sophistication. platform, featuring integrated liquidity management tools on
For example, at Deutsche Bank, we are placing increasing Autobahn, the Bank’s award-winning electronic distribution
emphasis on the importance of the ‘user experience’. This service, offers liquidity information and analysis tools that
means not only focusing on the functionality of technology, are presented in a graphical format via dashboards. This
but its ease-of-use and ability to be customized where information can be customized so that treasurers have access to
possible and appropriate. The prevalence of technology the specific data they want, in the way they want it. This is our
means that this – as well as the quality of the client on- current high level of service, and our aim is to reach higher still.
boarding process – will be the points of differentiation among To this end, we will continue to focus on improving the
financial technology providers. delivery of solutions, making it even simpler for clients to
Clients tell us that this approach works well, with interact with us – whether this be through technology,
Deutsche Bank rating highly in terms of connectivity, reporting documentation, self-administration or customer service. We
and file conversion. We are doing a lot of this on the back of a will also continue to pay a lot of attention to system stability
wide range of capabilities, which are what enable us to take in and the delivery of services to enable our clients’ success.
For more information, please visit www.db.com/gtb.