For more than 30 years, AFP Services Codes© have been recognized as the industry standard for identifying service charges that appear on account analysis statements and in responding to RFPs.
Trafigura is one of the world’s leading independent commodity trading and logistics houses. At the heart of the global economy, Laurent Christophe, Head of Corporate Finance of Trafigura, shares with Redbridge the details of how his company is addressing and seizing financial opportunities in the current environment and what he envisions in the future.
Over the last 12 months, Redbridge Debt and Treasury Advisory in conjunction with the CGI Workgroup 5 has conducted one of the most extensive surveys of BSB availability and scope of Global AFP code usage to date. While 16 known banks can currently produce the BSB file in a variety of countries, the survey reveals that there is still a long way to go for truly global coverage, even among the top global money center banks.
The use of cash and coin is not only declining, it is becoming more expensive each year. Large corporations required to receive payment in cash constantly look to reduce the cost of this service and manage the associated risks. Read here for some of the latest trends in cash and coin collection.
How do banks price your term loans, revolvers, and other credit facilities? Importantly, what makes your business profitable to each of your banks? Each bank has its own internal methodology, of which you might not be aware, but should be.
At some banks, paper Account Analysis Statements are still priced lower than electronic versions of the same report in PDF, CSV, or EDI 822. One bank is actually charging its corporate clients up to $175 per account monthly to receive an electronic version of the same report that comes in paper form for $25! That does not make sense! writes Bridget Meyer, senior director at Redbridge.
Solenn Le Lay and Hélène Shen, consultants from Redbridge DTA, identify important areas that treasurers should consider to avoid the common pitfalls of doing business with banks in Asia: obtain optimal pricing and ensure top quality services for all their local cash management needs.
A privately held retailer headquartered in the United States selected Redbridge to conduct a bank fees and services optimization called “BRM Insight”. This ‘big-box’ retailer – with more than 200 domestic US locations – utilizes a total of seven banks for its daily cash management, cash & coin deposits, and banking needs. In addition, the client works with multiple armored car couriers to facilitate the carrying of hard cash between its stores and banks.
Two of America’s largest banks have recently sent notices to customers communicating the changes to their services. Multiple global banks are also in the middle of streamlining service lines as they bring additional countries into a centralized global billing system.
Over recent years, the banking community has made steady progress toward establishing standardized billing formats.
When treasurers are able to understand how they are using the bank’s services and the cost of their global cash management operations they become better customers. Accessibility to the service usage and fee information relieves many of the pressures that currently exist in the treasury banking partnership, writes Dan Gill, Senior Director, Redbridge Analytics.
Corporate case studies and presentations reflect growing adoption of the BSB. European and UK e-invoicing regulation addressing retail bank statements and could in future have an influence on wholesale providers and users. The vendor survey is completed! An initial view of the results are reported on in this issue of the newsletter. Surveys are in progress to assess corporations using BSB as well as banks providing bank billing statements in BSB format. Corporate practitioners attribute value to use of the BSB format.
Corporate treasurers must now become more vigilant than ever in monitoring the inventory of bank accounts, the services and volumes their banks are claiming were used, and the rates applied to these volumes, each and every month, write Daniel Gill and Tamir Shafer.
The most influential variable for optimal decision making is not based upon accurately utilizing and pricing all available information; rather, it is the inability to place any acceptable degree of confidence on the variable for uncertainty over future potential outcomes. Managing such uncertainty is precisely the challenge the corporate finance community faces after Britain’s recent referendum to withdrawal from the EU, writes Bob Callahan, Director at Redbridge DTA.
While rates are on the rise in a competitive environment, such as an RFP, it will take time before ECRs are increased across the board – especially at the large money center banks focused on shedding deposits rather than attracting them, says Redbridge’s nationally recognized treasury expert, Bridget Meyer.
