2 min readThis summer, the FOMC’s speeches and official statements have been focused on tapering the pace of the Federal Reserve’s asset purchases. Both the equity and fixed income markets have been hanging on to the Fed’s every word and the markets’ interpretation of the FOMC’s comments have led to a significant sell-off in longer-term yields, while…
1 min readEach January our newsletter focuses on the likely challenges that cash investors will face in the coming year. Given how much has transpired in the treasurer’s world since the beginning of 2013, we thought that an update on the issues facing cash investors would be helpful. On June 5th the SEC voted unanimously to propose…
2 min readCounterparty risk associated with financial institutions seems to be the hot topic lately. From San Francisco to Miami, treasury conference attendees were discussing the issue and the conferences devoted working sessions to the topic. We believe that this is not a passing fad; rather, counterparty risk in one’s enterprise needs to be addressed and managed…
1 min readIdentifying credit trends and translating these trends into risk management practices, whether in the management of a buy list or in the management of counterparty risk, is a key function within treasury departments. The negative trends in bank ratings we discussed more than a year ago, “Bank Ratings Headed for BBB, How the Megatrend May…
1 min readThis month I attended a client’s audit committee meeting to review cash investment strategies and an interesting question was raised; the treasurer asked if it was time to start evolving their risk tolerance away from a Government-only strategy. This was a provocative question and one that we hear frequently these days. Although this particular company…
1 min readOver the last decade, the “too big to fail” or systemically important status of banks, combined with the FDIC’s Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program, has allowed many of the country’s largest banks to grow even larger. Treasury professionals who may have been reassured by a bank’s brand and size also may have increased counterparty exposures…
2 min readCapturing and evaluating risk is a growing mantra for treasurers, not only for cash investments, but across the enterprise, as well. These investors, along with regulators, have demanded more timely investment disclosures to help support their investment allocations. No investment class has made more progress on this front than money market funds, which have moved…
2 min readEach year at this time we look ahead and identify challenges that we believe will define the landscape treasurers will face in the New Year. Not unlike the GPS tools that can identify traffic, weather and detours that may be encountered en route to one’s destination, our goal is to survey the road ahead to…
1 min readDecember’s arrival brings with it tidings of uncertainty for Treasury professionals. The looming fiscal cliff and the December 31st expiration of the Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program bracket a variety of outcomes for tax policy, spending and deposit regulations that could have wide-ranging repercussions for businesses. One challenge we explored last month was the expiration…
1 min readSince 2008, the cash markets have been positively impacted by a massive regulatory overhaul and supported through a multitude of government programs that led to credit generation and stability in the markets. Investors reacted positively to these programs, sifting through a variety of new choices that now offered government guarantees of principal and interest on…