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Ted Howard

Libor SOFRTreasury Management
June 25, 2020

Transition to SOFR Pushing Ahead Despite Pandemic

The pandemic and its aftermath forced bank treasurers to move the Libor-to-SOFR transition to the back burner; but make no mistake, it is still very much still on the stove.With apologies to the real estate industry, there were three critical issues that mattered to bank treasurers before the pandemic: 1) Libor to SOFR transition, 2) Libor to SOFR transition and 3) Libor to SOFR transition. But now, given COVID-19’s damaging impact on world economies, banks have been presented with new…
Ted Howard
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Cash & Working CapitalRisk ManagementTreasury Management
June 25, 2020

March Madness: Searching for Answers on Cash Flow and Credit

Data from Clearwater underscores the concerns of treasury investment managers reducing risk during the pandemic. If you needed any more proof that the pandemic has made treasury investment managers even more attuned to the risks in their portfolios, check out the table below from Clearwater Analytics, which sponsored a NeuGroup meeting this week on market trends and improving balance sheet management.  Cash flow and credit. It may not be surprising, but relative to other searches, the sheer number of views in…
Ted Howard
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Pension and BenefitsRisk Management
June 18, 2020

Pensions Look for Re-Entry, Re-Risk Opportunities

Pension managers were de-risking at the end of 2019, much to their relief months later; now it’s time to add some risk.Although pension managers have been de-risking over the course of the last several months – and continue to do so in different areas – many are now on the hunt to re-enter the market to re-risk. “Can we be nimble enough to pounce given the opportunities that are out there?” wondered one member of NeuGroup’s Pension and Benefits (NGPB)…
Ted Howard
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Capital Markets
June 18, 2020

Economic Forecast: Outlook for Recovery Improving, but Numerous Risks Remain

Evercore ISI economist Dick Rippe lays out the case for second-half growth after a first-half plunge.The increased difficulty of cash forecasting and other financial planning since the COVID-19 outbreak means that many treasury and finance teams are eager to hear informed economic analysis and forecasts while we all wait for a vaccine. At a NeuGroup meeting in late May, Dick Rippe, managing director and economist at Evercore ISI, provided his firm’s US and global economic outlook and responded to member questions. Mr.…
Ted Howard
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FXRegional
June 18, 2020

Pandemic Hits Argentina Hard – With Tighter FX Controls in Its Wake

The pandemic has inflicted serious pain on world economies and it could be extra painful for Argentina.   Argentina has faced recurring fiscal crises, and now the global pandemic-induced economic recession has once again pushed the country to the brink of defaulting on its dollar-denominated sovereign debt. For corporates doing business there, including members of NeuGroup’s Latin America Treasury Peer Group (LatAmTPG), the most visible manifestation of the crisis is in the defensive measures the government is taking to preserve FX reserves, i.e.,…
Ted Howard
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Accounting & DisclosureComplianceCOVID-19Treasury Management
June 4, 2020

Smooth Sailing: One Investment Manager’s Painless Adoption of CECL

Taking a qualitative approach and doing no discounted cash flow calculations produced a calm CECL debut for at least one investment manager.At a recent NeuGroup meeting, the only investment manager whose company adopted the new accounting standard for estimating credit losses in the first quarter described a relatively painless process, giving comfort to some of his peers. The meeting, sponsored by BlackRock, included a presentation by Aladdin on FASB’s current expected credit losses (CECL) methodology. Aladdin offers risk management software…
Ted Howard
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ComplianceFunctional
June 4, 2020

Differing Opinions About Audit Opinions

Internal auditors use a variety ratings or opinions for their reporting, despite a trend of not using them.There is a growing trend of internal audit departments moving away from using audit opinions, or ratings, to rate the progress of a mitigation effort. The idea is to focus on the audit issue itself and mitigate it. Despite this trend, many auditees and audit committee members are happy with the current system and push back against suggestions to get rid of ratings.Following…
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COVID-19ESGInvestment Management
June 2, 2020

Financing the Fight Against COVID-19: Sustainability Bond Deals

Corporates and banks fuel gains in social and sustainability bond issuance amid the battle against the coronavirus. The coronavirus pandemic may have dampened green bond issuance in the first quarter of 2020, but it has also pushed some corporates to use proceeds from sustainability bond offerings to help fight the virus. Case in point: Pfizer. Heather Lang, executive director of sustainable finance solutions at ESG ratings firm Sustainalytics—which is being acquired by Morningstar—named Pfizer as one of the institutions using proceeds…
Ted Howard
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Cash & Working CapitalRegionalRisk ManagementTreasury Management
June 2, 2020

Founder’s KTAs from NeuGroup for European Treasury Peer Group 2020 H1 Meeting

By Joseph Neu The European Treasury Peer Group 2020 H1 meeting took place last week, sponsored by HSBC. Here are some takeaways that I wanted to share: COVID-19 validates regional treasury centers. HSBC said the case for regional treasury centers has been further validated by the pandemic. In comments on how clients have shown resilience and are preparing for markets to reopen, the bank noted the importance of real-time global exposure information, including a centralized liquidity and risk management framework; but also critical…
Ted Howard
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