A year of success for US banksThe Cash & Liquidity Management andPayments & Collections Awards weredominated by Citi and Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch respectively this year, withboth banks submitting highly professionalentries supported by very strong client

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Innovation andExcellence in 2016The Awards

Y et again, 2016 saw a record number of nominations and submissions for theTMI Awards for Innovation and Excellence across both bank/supplier andcorporate categories. Once again, the quality was outstanding, and many

entries, both winners and – we hope – future winners, reflected a great deal ofthought and effort, for which we offer our sincere thanks. So with such closecompetition, what ultimately marked out our award winners?

By Helen Sanders, Editor

testimonials. Citi won the Global Cash &Liquidity Management award, togetherwith regional awards for Sub-SaharanAfrica and South America. In Asia Pacificand Middle East & North Africa, Citi wassuccessful in both the Cash & LiquidityManagement, and Payments & Collectionsawards. In addition to specific regional

In Financial Supply Chain Management,covering trade and supply chain financing,there was a very well-balanced picture of

success across multiple banks.

capabilities in each of the relevantcategories, the judges were impressed bythe bank’s ongoing investment ininnovative customer solutions, such as itsliquidity management services and CitiTreasury Diagnostics (CTD). With over 600participants, this differentiating diagnosticfeature helps clients to identify strengths,weaknesses, and areas for improvementand generates specific action plans to helpthem prioritise their activities. Anextension of CTD is the Citi BankRationalization Tool (BRT). For complexmultinational corporations aiming torationalise global banking or transformtreasury practices, BRT allows the client togather data in a consistent manner onbanking practices to review its current stateand make critical decisions.Bank of America Merrill Lynch achieved

similar success in the Payments &Collections Awards, as well as beingawarded best bank for Cash & LiquidityManagement in North America and China.As the winner of the Global Payments &Collections award, as well as regionalawards in China and South and NorthAmerica, Bank of America Merrill Lynchhad a demonstrable commitment toinnovations that are driving a change inclient behaviour and opportunity. Over thepast 12 months, the bank has launched arange of new solutions such as virtualaccount management (VAM), the nextgeneration of virtual accounts, whichsupports both payments and collections,including SEPA direct debit collections.Other innovations include ongoinginvestment in the bank’s card programme,and CashPro® Flow, which enables clientsto lock in FX rates over extended periods(also recognised by the technology awardfor Risk Management).

European banks fighting backWhile Citi and Bank of America MerrillLynch may appear to dominate theseaward categories, other international andregional banks were successful in some ofthe most hotly contested categories, mostnotably in the European awards. Nordeawon the Nordic regional awards for Cash &Liquidity Management and FinancialSupply Chain Management. The bank’ssubmission, supported by a variety ofclient nominations, reflected theleadership role that the bank is taking incash management innovation, with anactive innovation lab running initiatives in

fintech collaboration, PSD2 and openbanking. Nordea’s Startup Acceleratorprogramme is well-established andreaping benefits for the bank, fintechpartners and ultimately, the clients theysupport. The bank is also a pioneer inexternal initiatives such as the R3 CEVBlockchain initiative and SWIFT’s globalpayments innovation (gpi) initiative.In western Europe, the most contested

region, the clear winners were DeutscheBank and BNP Paribas in Cash & LiquidityManagement and Payments & Collectionsrespectively. There has been significantreader interest in BNP Paribas’ Payments &Collections supplement published earlierin 2016, and more recently, its CashManagement University publication,which together with other articles duringthe course of the year, are a cleardemonstration not only of BNP Paribas’credibility, insights and solutions inpayments and cash management, but alsoof the bank’s commitment to engagingwith the corporate community to shareideas and challenges, co-create solutionsand provide education.Deutsche Bank, winner of the Cash &

Liquidity Management Award for westernEurope, was also heavily focused on clientengagement during the course of 2016,These included a global treasury researchproject culminating in the white paperManaging Risk in Challenging EconomicTimes conducted with The EconomistIntelligence Unit. A series of articlesauthored by Deutsche Bank experts basedon the findings of this report starts in thisedition of TMI. The bank has alsoannounced a number of notable newcorporate mandates and innovationprojects, including ongoing developmentsof its FX4Cash platform and Autobahn AppMarkets, including Cash Inquiry whichsupports payments across all currencies

and management reporting forperformance analysis. In Central & Eastern Europe, UniCredit

was awarded best bank for Cash &Liquidity Management, not least due to theexcellent guide published in conjunctionwith TMI in September 2016. The Guidecombines expert industry insights withpractical, innovative customer solutions,and has been warmly welcomed byreaders. UniCredit’s leadership position ininstant payments was also amongst thereasons for the judges’ decision to offer thisaward.Staying in Central & Eastern Europe,

ING was particularly noted by the judgesfor the quality of its submission, with aclear commitment to creating a highquality customer experience by simplifyingand streamlining its organisation andprocesses and investing in innovation. Thisincludes initiatives to standardise andrationalise the documentation, withnotable results for customers, and ongoingdevelopment of its Inside Businessinternational banking platform. Similarly,while other banks have been consolidatingtheir footprint, ING continues to expand tonew territories in line with customerdemand.

A balanced picture of bankachievementIn Financial Supply Chain Management,covering trade and supply chain financing,there was a very well-balanced picture ofsuccess across multiple banks. BNPParibas should be congratulated on anexcellent submission which resulted in theglobal award, with a clear commitment todeveloping and reinforcing its depth andbreadth of capability across a footprint of60 countries and territories to supportinternational trade. The thought

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awards 2016

leadership and educational focusdemonstrated by the cash managementteam is also clearly apparent in the bank’strade finance team, with a wealth of bothcash management and trade financeinformation provided through the Atlas onthe bank’s cash management website. Theonly bank to win awards in two regions inthis category was Societe Generale, whichwas successful in both Middle East & NorthAfrica and Central & Eastern Europe. Thebank’s factoring business enjoys aleadership position in France, but also inkey markets in these regions and beyond.Since the beginning of 2016, SocieteGenerale has been engaged in atransformation project to create adedicated factoring business line tofacilitate integrated solutions and bestpractices since the beginning of 2016,which is likely to further enhance itssuccess.ANZ’s success in Asia Pacific was based

on a variety of excellent case studies andtestimonials. These illustrateddemonstrable benefits in improvingearnings and leveraging receivablesfinance to drive behaviours at clientorganisations, enhancing cash conversioncycle and reducing the working capitalemployed. In North America, HSBC’ssubmission was also successful as a resultof the quality and diversity of case studiesand client testimonials that supported thebank’s entry, across a range of industrysectors including technology, retail,electronics and international fashion.What was clear to the judges from HSBC’sentry was the value that clients derivedfrom the combination of the bank’sinternational network with highlypersonalised solutions that meet eachcompany’s distinct requirements.

New priorities, new awardsWith FX risk management becomingincreasingly important in an environmentof ongoing political, economic andcurrency volatility, this year marks the firstof a new award in FX Management andMarkets, which the judges unanimouslyawarded to Commerzbank. This awardattracted more customer nominationsthan any other award, with complimentsfrom a number of senior financeprofessionals from leading corporations.What quickly became clear from thenominations is not only the achievementsof both the bank and its clients, but also

how nice its clients are! One nominated thebank “for consistently insightful andhelpful analysis of our balance sheetexposures”. Another described the bank as“innovative and convincing”, while othersreferenced the bank’s excellent derivativesolutions. One simply said “Great bank,great service”. For any bank, this is anaccolade that’s hard to beat. This awardwas also the only one for which clientsmentioned specific individuals, soparticular congratulations should go toMireille Meens, Commerzbank’s Head ofCorporate Sales, Western Europe, and theteams in both Prague and Germany.

A clean sweepIn the Money Market Fund categories, J.P.Morgan Asset Management won awards forall three regions: Asia, US and Europe,although it should be noted that thecompetition in each region was very strong,so it was a very close decision in each case.Ultimately, the awards were given based onexcellent client testimonials, includingcomment on the degree to which J.P.Morgan Asset Management advocates onbehalf of its customers, the quality of adviceand transparency of its cash investmentsolutions. Readers also responded veryfavourably to the expert contributions toTMI during the course of the year, whichhave also enhanced perceptions of J.P.Morgan Asset Management and itscredibility.

A quick fire round….With fifteen separate technologycategories, including an impressivenumber of nominations and submissionsin each one, I will keep this section short…Judges decided to award the 2016technology awards for innovation andexcellence for the following achievements:

Card solution Bank of America Merrill Lynch, for itsValue of Cards web app. This app, which isfreely available to clients, models thepotential benefits of a B2B payment cardsolution. The tool offers detailed estimatesof savings and efficiency gains based onthe company’s specific circumstances,which are crucial to developing a robustand compelling business case. Treasurersand finance managers can also set realisticobjectives for card projects and measuresuccess.

With FX riskmanagementbecomingincreasingly

important in anenvironment ofongoing political,economic andcurrency

volatility, this yearmarks the first

of a new award inFX Managementand Markets.

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Trade finance solution BELLIN, for its integrated, paperless tradefinance solution as part of tm5. This allowsclients and their banks to exchange tradefinance data and documentationelectronically using a standardised processwith impressive straight-through-processing, reporting and tracking.

Bank connectivity Reval, for developments to the Reval CloudPlatform over the past year, includingintegration of: Fides, a global multibankingservice bureau; EBICS, the transmissionprotocol used extensively in Germany andFrance; SWIFT, including Alliance Lite2;BACS, the interbank payment network inthe UK; NTT DATA’s gateway to Japan’sANSER and Zengin, amongst a number ofother developments to simplify andstreamline clients’ payment andinformation processing.

Treasury analyticsOpenLink, for providing corporations with asingle platform for treasury andcommodities procurement. With high levelsof commodity and currency volatility,corporations are increasingly demandingan integrated view of their currency andcommodity price risks as opposed tomanaging these separately.

Accounts receivable solution FIS, for its GETPAID solution. Over the pastyear, FIS have continued to developGETPAID with a sophisticated creditworkflow engine and ongoingenhancements to its predictive creditscoring and collaboration capabilities.Clients particularly valued FIS’ partnershipapproach to achieving highly efficient credit& collection processes and managing risk.

Mobile treasury solutionCommerzbank, for its photoTAN(transaction authentication number)smartphone app. This provides customerswith dual-factor authentication, including asingle-use barcode solution to authoriseand release transactions, includingsecurities, time deposits, call money andadministration, providing both security andconvenience.

Electronic trading – MMFsEBS Treasury, for innovation and expansionof its electronic trading portal, in addition tostrong sales and client testimonials. Newdevelopments include: an investment

optimiser to evaluate net returns acrossdifferent currency MMFs and execute swapand investment/redemption transactionsautomatically, an embedded EMIRreporting capability; addition ofcommercial paper trading and a variety ofinitiatives across different product types,including FX and local authority peer-to-peer lending.

Accounts payable solutionFIS, for its TRAX solution. TRAX’scomprehensive functionality across bothpayment processing and bank reportingcontinues to be the industry benchmark foraccounts payable, with notabledevelopments not only in efficiency,integration and transparency, but also infraud prevention and detection, such asfraud lists and ‘self learning’ to detectdeviations in payment behaviour. Clientnominations were particularly strong forthis award, which we look forward toexploring in more detail during the courseof 2017.

ERP-based solutionHanse Orga, for its recently enhanced andextended FS2 Payments, an SAP-embeddedsoftware solution that supports medium-sized companies as well as global playerswith complex corporate structures inperforming their payments most effectivelyand cost-efficiently. The solution helpscentralise control and visibility of company-wide payments and supports globalpayment factories.

Cash management solutionING, for its Virtual Cash Management(VCM) solution that the bank launched in2016. VCM enables treasurers to rationaliseand simplify account structures and set upor enhance in-house bank structures withadvanced capabilities including invoicematching, optimised reconciliation, internal

transfers, and intercompany loanadministration. It also facilitates bothpayments and collections-on-behalf-of(POBO and COBO) structures.

Customer experienceHSBC, for its GTRF solution, a digitally-enabled sales and onboarding model forSME customers, including in markets suchas UK, Hong Kong, China, US, and Mexico.The bank has completed theimplementation in the UK ReceivablesFinance business and with that, has becomethe first trade bank to apply a direct modelof this kind, with the aim of rolling out morewidely. The solution is based on a digitalplatform offered by Vizolution, a SaaS-based customer experience company inwhich HSBC has invested, demonstratingan early example of how major banks andemerging technology companies areworking together to develop innovativecustomer solutions.

TMSReval, for ongoing developments to theReval Cloud Platform, supported by positiveclient testimonials. Recently acquired byION, Reval has invested in a range ofadditional functionality, in addition to theconnectivity capabilities integrated into theplatform listed above, including support forIFRS9 and double-byte characters, andnegative interest rate models. One clientcommented, “Aside from having a talentedgroup of practitioners, this [Reval] is reallythe system that lets them [the team] executeat their best and focus more on trade opticsand value-added decision-making insteadof back-office items.”

Solution innovationStandard Chartered, for its ‘Banking theEcosystem’ concept, summarised by AlexManson, Global Head of TransactionBanking in the October (247) edition of

With high levels of commodity and currencyvolatility, corporations are increasingly

demanding an integrated view of their currencyand commodity price risks.

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TMI. While supply chains typically refer tothe connected thread of suppliers andwholesalers that create a company’sproducts and services, and the distributors,agents and retailers that sell them, thisconcept has arguably become outdated asnetworks of commercial counterpartieshave extended and become more complexand intertwined. Instead, the concept ofthe ‘ecosystem’ better reflects thecomplexity and mutual dependencies thatexist, from individuals and small familyproducers through to the world’s largestmultinationals. These different entitieshave different financing and bankingneeds, but by taking a holistic approach toproviding liquidity, managing risk andfacilitating transactions, the ecosystembecomes more resilient and efficientfinancially, and is positioned for growth.

Electronic trading portal, FX360T for ongoing growth, innovation andinvestment. With 1,600 buy side customersin 75 countries, and daily trading volume

of around EUR 70bn, in addition tointercompany solutions, 360T continues togo from strength to strength. Clientsexpress a high degree of satisfaction withthe platform, which is provided on a SaaSbasis, and regulated by the Germanfinancial authority.

Risk management solutionBank of America Merrill Lynch for itsrecently re-launched CashPro Flowproduct, which enables clients to pay, priceor invoice goods and services in localcurrency without taking on FX risk. Thisproposition is available globally for timeframes extending from 1 - 180 days,reducing risk and enhancing competitive-ness when entering new markets. Byaligning these rates with budget or forecastrates, clients can also eliminate any FXexposure between payments, budget ratesand hedges, improving forecasting ability,avoiding mismatches and simplifying bothsupplier relationships and treasurymanagement. �

The end of innovation? Not so!

Commentators have been predicting a decline in innovation in the treasury and bankingsector in recent years as organisations direct their investment dollars towardsregulatory compliance and tackling and pre-empting security vulnerabilities andthreats. This year’s awards demonstrate that innovation is taking place alongside theseessential investments, with a clear focus on enhancing the customer experience. Manypeople ask at this time of year how their organisation can win a TMI award. So here areour handy tips:

1. You need to enter, or clients need to nominate you. This may sound obvious, butevery year we receive calls from banks or suppliers asking why they haven’t receivedan award in a category that they have not entered.

2. Produce a concise submission that outlines specifically why your organisation shouldbe considered for a particular award – bullet points are fine. This can refer to casestudies and editorial elsewhere in the publication, but you cannot assume thatjudges will have time to trawl through everything you’ve produced to construct apicture of your organisation’s strengths in the award category.

3. Encourage clients to nominate you or provide case studies or testimonials you canlink to your entry. This was a characteristic of many of this year’s award winners, ofwhich Commerzbank is a particular case in point: not only did the bank provide avery strong, clear submission, but clients in all regions submitted very short butpowerful nominations.

4. Be selective. It’s better to enter for award categories in which you have a compellingvalue proposition rather than every category.

With thanks for the very many entrants to this year’s awards, and congratulations to ourwinners.

The concept of the‘ecosystem’ better

reflects thecomplexity and

mutualdependencies that

exist, fromindividuals andsmall familyproducers

through to theworld’s largestmultinationals.