13 min readAbstract Many liquidity investors came to know commercial paper (CP) through holdings in prime money market funds (MMFs). We notice higher interest in direct CP investing since the 2016 MMF reform. This paper provides an overview of the market over the last decade and evaluates financial vs. non-financial, U.S. vs. foreign, and Tier 1 vs….
10 min readAbstract The evolving treasury cash investment landscape and yield disadvantage of bank deposits have prompted many practitioners to look for alternative options for managing their excess cash. We address this topic in a generalized manner, summarizing three major categories of available cash investment vehicles: deposits, pooled assets and direct purchases. The pros and cons of…
3 min readAbstract Offshore institutional money market funds (MMFs) have largely sat in the periphery for US-centric liquidity investors, but European reform and repatriation of overseas profits may result in transformational changes. Offshore fund investors will have few alternatives other than low volatility net asset value (LVNAV) funds. Public debt funds may not accommodate large inflows. A…
2 min readIn the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) programs were among the many investments tainted by the subprime mortgage meltdown. The crash precipitated a steady outflow from a total of $1.2 trillion in ABCP investments at their peak in late 2007 to $238 billion in October 2017. But in recent years,…
4 min readExecutive Summary ABCP can still be a good investment choice in large corporate treasury accounts due to the liquidity, flexibility, and yield potential of the asset class. Most traditional multi-seller conduits persevered through the recent financial crisis. Despite low issuance and investor skepticism, the mechanism of ABCP structures improved due to new regulatory measures. Potential…
5 min readAbstract The Republican bill represents a starting point for tax and budget negotiations. While details are lacking, the current plan offers some interesting angles for market participants to think about their liquidity investment strategies. We highlighted parts of the bill relevant to corporate cash investors and their potential impact on issuers and investors in the…
3 min readThe Earnings Credit Rate (ECR) has been a successful tool used by banks to lure corporate depositors during the low interest rate environment, but shouldn’t be expected to keep pace with rising interest rates. Banks offer ECRs to offset bank transactional fees for non-interest bearing deposits accounts, effectively acting as a conduit to hard interest….
3 min readAbstract Treasury organizations maintain deposit relationships despite uninsured credit risk and lost yield opportunity. Earnings credit rates may become less competitive than market-based rates. Including separate accounts in the mix helps address both credit and yield objectives in institutional liquidity management. Introduction The search for liquidity management solutions reached a new level of significance when…
5 min readPerhaps no word better describes the start of 2017 than “transition.” The year began with the White House’s transition from the Obama to the Trump administration, continued with the rise of European populism, and recently culminated in the official beginning of Britain’s transition out of the European Union. Somewhat less noticeably, change is also taking…
4 min readWhen British citizens voted to leave the European Union last June, markets reacted strongly: the pound dropped 11%, the FTSE 100 (an index of British stocks) fell 9%, and equity markets from the United States to Japan sold off as well. Although much of the value lost in these markets was recovered quickly, the Brexit…