Karen Kroll

New tools and partnerships are expanding what regional banks can offer, and they still shine for local expertise. 

One reason that more regional banks—including Global Finance’s 2018 winners—are merging and being acquired is that they themselves are advising on more M&A deals.

Economic expansion, economic jitters, and restructuring across industries made 2018 a big year for Global Finance’s Best M&A Banks.

Tapodyuti Bose, global head of Channels and Enterprise Services for Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, talks about how consumers are driving changes in corporate banking, and how Citi collaborates with both fintechs and clients.

Although 2016’s frothy market didn’t repeat, regional M&A advisors in the US aren’t complaining about 2017.

Economic and political factors could force companies to put acquisition plans on hold, making for an unpredictable 2018. But this year’s Best M&A Bank winners are still optimistic about future growth prospects.

Adam Walendziewski, director of digital platforms agile centre ING bank slaski, a digital bank of distinction this year, tells global finance about the ways the bank promotes a ‘digital first’ strategy.

Writer Gordon Platt talks about Innovation with Sankar Krishan of CapGemini.

Reknowned economist James K. Galbraith, one of our expert panelists, pulls no punches in talking about the damage wrought by financial innovation

Details on the winners of Global Finance Magazine’s 2017 awards for best boutique investment banks. 

Antoine Jacquemin, deputy head for Western Europe with Societe Generale, discusses strategies for hedging foreign exchange risks.

Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy with Brown Brothers Harriman, discusses how major world events are impacting currency markets.

Gulf nations are the latest in the growing number of countries implementing value-added taxes (VAT) on goods and services.
 

Serhat Yıldırım, senior vice president of digital banking at Akbank, talks about mobile banking advances in Turkey.

Jeff Marshall, head of the digital factory at Scotiabank, talks about the dramatic change in how customers interact with banks.

Blockchain, the Cloud and the Internet of Things are luring trade finance away from its reliance on paper.

Tax Reporting & Compliance
The OECD’s “Base Erosion and Profit Shifting” principles are being incorporated into tax laws in some nations, requiring more transparency from corporate treasury departments.

What challenges are top of mind among treasurers in the Asia-Pacific region? 

Global Finance: What impact is regulation having on treasury operations? Shahrokh Moinian: A starting point was Basel III. Some banks need to reshape their balance sheets, which potentially leads to higher costs of borrowing for corporations. In reality, large corporations ...

Taxation | Capital Markets
In December 2015, 10 European Union members agreed on key aspects of a harmonized financial transaction tax (FTT).

With interest rates bottoming and the market jittery, treasurers are seeking more unconventional and versatile means for managing stockpiled war chests of liquidity.

Card Processing | The United States is slowly catching up to the rest of the world in transaction processing, shifting from mag-stripe to more secure EMV payment cards.

Dick Oskam, global head of sales for transaction services, ING, talks virtual bank accounts and blockchain technology.

Gregory Malosh, managing director and head of information and liquidity products, BNY Mellon, explains why banks find outsourcing good business.

Management | Compensation
Gap Accounting: Some five years and 287,000 comments after the pay-ratio disclosure rule was included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued the final regulation in August.

SIBOS Supersection 2015 | Bank Relationship Management
Basel III and other regulatory developments are causing a sea change in bank-corporate relationships. It is up to corporate treasurers to lead that process.

SIBOS Supersection 2015 | Bank Relationship Management
Along with understanding the value they provide their banking partners, most companies want to know what they’re spending in banking fees each year, and how this compares to the contracted rates. Bank-fee analysis software can automate the process.

Special Report | U.S. Transaction Banking
Dealing with the regulatory complexities faced by their larger peers and without some of the flexibility of their smaller brethren, US regional transaction banks are building international partnerships and investing in best-of-breed technology platforms in order to win, and hold on to, corporate clients.

Special Report | Global Payments
When it comes to enriching corporate card programs, the focus is on technologies and policies that can boost efficiency, visibility and controls.

Management | Metrics
Corporations and analysts turn to scores of metrics—return on assets, working capital and others—to determine a company’s financial health. Another, the ratio of debt to internal funds, is one of the most widely used benchmarks. But a new study suggests that the debt-to-funds ratio isn’t all that accurate in predicting or explaining default risk.

Market Analysis | Trade Finance
The outlook for trade finance in North America appears modestly positive. “Growth will be more in line with global GDP,” says Chris Lewis, executive vice president and group head, international trade services, Wells Fargo.

Market Analysis | Supply Chain Finance
Trade agreements, falling commodity prices, economic growth and Basel III are among the issues that are top of mind for many experts in banking and trade finance in Asia.

Regulation | Management
In October the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project released a report outlining its progress on a series of steps it was taking to combat tactics—often legal but ethically questionable—used by many multinational companies to reduce or eliminate tax liabilities across their operations. 

SIBOS SUPERSECTION 2014 | SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE
New SCF solutions are offering a range of tools to help suppliers manage working capital and diversify funding sources.

RISK MANAGEMENT By Karen Kroll Corporate life and pensions insurance is regaining strength as economic conditions improve. The US market for corporate- and bank-owned life insurance (COLI and BOLI, respectively) and corporate supplemental pension plans—or “top hat” plans—are once again ...

STICKING TO THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW   By Karen Kroll   Companies continue to bank on safety and security in managing liquidity and investments.   At the end of this year’s first quarter, cash and short-term investment balances among the ...

By Karen Kroll Many of the 19 Francophone countries of Sub-Saharan Africa–that is, those whose citizens speak French and who were otherwise influenced by France, most likely as colonies–currently occupy the bottom of The World Bank’s Doing Business ranking . ...

GOING GLOBAL AND MOBILE By Karen Kroll   Companies are increasingly using e-payments and looking at mobile channels. But moving money electronically cross-border can still be an issue.   The ways in which organizations are paying their suppliers and business ...

BUILDING IN RESILIENCE   By Karen Kroll   Creating a flexible, robust supply chain is key to reducing the likelihood and potential impact of disruptions.   Effectively managing supply chain risk, while always important, is becoming increasingly critical. Companies are ...

A HOUSE OF CARDS   By Karen Kroll   Companies are consolidating purchasing and expense card programs and are starting to extend programs globally. But gaining supplier acceptance still remains challenging.   As companies’ supply chains become increasingly multinational, a ...

SHARING THE BURDEN   By Karen Kroll   New regulations and global uncertainty are reviving corporate focus on payment factories and in-house banks.   As companies look further outside their borders for new growth and increased regulation makes tracking cash ...

GIVING DILIGENCE ITS DUE   By Karen Kroll   Companies are using outsourced service providers, bringing in experts, and making use of new technology solutions to stay compliant with the increasingly complex global regulations.   Despite some of the headlines ...

GLOBAL   By Anita Hawser   Abbey: Massive investment leaves door open for fraud With governments around the world doling out billions in stimulus packages or infrastructure projects to help revive flagging economies in the wake of the subprime crisis, ...

Argentina When Argentina unveils its Museum of Foreign Debt in March, organizers are not aiming for busloads of camera-toting tourists. Instead, they hope it will help Argentines grasp how it is that their country has been in a perennial headlock ...

SIBOS SUPERSECTION 2014 | CASH & TRADE CONVERGENCE
As more companies focus on gaining visi-bility into both their physical and financial supply chains, banks and technology vendors are further integrating their cash management and trade solutions.