2 min readResults from the Capital Advisors Group/Strategic Treasurer 2012 Liquidity Risk Survey, to be released later this month, portend the shifting regulatory environment will significantly impact investment vehicle preferences for corporate cash managers. The survey results remind us that changing regulations can be a major catalyst in modifying investor behavior. After the Lehman bankruptcy, regulators deployed…
2 min readFebruary ushered in a sea of potential changes for corporate cash managers. Early in the month, The Wall Street Journal reported on a pending proposal by the SEC to stabilize money market funds through additional regulations. Later in the month, Moody’s Investors Service announced a total of 120 banking credits were being placed on negative…
2 min readPortfolio examinations are typical activities for this time of year as year-end audits get underway. What may come as a surprise, however, is the additional scrutiny on valuation methodology that auditors are requesting. Supporting our clients for this additional scrutiny reminds us of the benefits that may be achieved through our broader Credit/Risk Management Oversight…
3 min readThe New Year has a way of prompting us to focus on priorities and agendas for the coming 12 months and as Treasurers plan their “To Do” lists for 2012, it is helpful to identify trends and events that will shape the short-term cash management environment. A view of the potential issues that could develop…
1 min readAs a business looks for strategic opportunities to deploy its cash, maintaining liquidity in its cash investment accounts is crucial. Money market funds have been the traditional answer to liquidity, but their engineered liquidity has come under scrutiny from both investors and regulators alike. Potential regulatory changes announced by the SEC on November 7 may…
1 min readBest practices for corporate cash risk management have evolved rapidly over the years. The pace of this evolution accelerated significantly since the credit crisis, where both investment and counterparty risk management took center stage. Treasurers wanted to know specifically what their exposures were. They sought detailed credit assessments of the exposures and looked to understand…
1 min readAgainst a backdrop of declining US growth projections, all eyes were on the Fed last week as they considered new policy initiatives designed to impact the cost of borrowing. Under consideration was the QE3 balance sheet expansion, as well as more politically palatable options, such as reducing the interest rates paid on excess reserves held…
1 min readThe ground shook under Washington twice in August, registering 5.8 on the Richter scale and AA+ on the ratings scale. Mother Nature produced the earthquake and Congress, unable to craft a fiscal plan meaningful enough to maintain America’s AAA rating, triggered the ratings tremor. Aftershocks included a string of poor economic data suggesting the current…
2 min readGreek debt crisis…Spanish banks…U.S. debt ceiling impasses…July certainly had its share of rollercoaster news for the markets to digest. As an investment manager of corporate cash, we focus on how our buy list of securities should be adjusted given the backdrop of these types of developments. While much of this news has been developing for…
2 min readDespite record economic stimulus, and perhaps due to the waning of the stimulus programs, May’s economic data indicated a reversal in key expansion criteria. For example, non-farm payrolls, which had been trending in the 220,000 range for the previous three months, came in at 54,000 in May, far below the 180,000 level needed to maintain…