Cash

Etihad Airways has transformed its profit and loss forecasting and cost modelling procedures to introduce dynamic planning. Helped by a new Adaptive Insights software tool that shifts accountability for inputs to the business and encourages everyone’s participation, the overhaul has eliminated disparate Excel and Access-based models to enable more analysis.  Vydya Venkateswaran, of Etihad Airways, presents a case study Etihad …

The world of global payments is undergoing fundamental change, reshaped by technology and redefined by regulation, the emergence of new economic powers, and changes in the global currency landscape. Most importantly, payments will be refocused from a commoditised proposition to a strategic, value-adding solution. Therefore, it’s time for banks in the MENA region to gear up if they wish to …

EVAN GOLDSTEIN, global head of renminbi solutions at Deutsche Bank, explores the growing prominence of the renminbi  and the benefits and challenges of its use as a trade settlement and treasury management currency. While China’s renminbi (RMB) has been around for nearly 70 years since it was first introduced in 1948, its role in the international arena has been limited …

The UAE is becoming a ‘battleground’ where international and domestic banks are touting their respective services in a bid to win new trading customers. MELANIE LOVATT looks at how this competition is benefitting corporates   Much bank activity has centred on providing services to the Gulf region’s government- controlled oil companies. Securing this business remains important, but private sector growth and diversification …

Expansion, forward thinking and treasury upgrades have contributed to the success of one of Dubai’s leading commercial groups. But it would like to see an improvement in the quality of services being offered by banks. PAUL MELLY reports   From traditional family trading house to modern company in just a few decades. This is a path that many of the …

Omani banks are gearing up on the IT front following a Royal Decree encouraging the market to adopt more technology. This was one of the facts that emerged from a BNY Mellon Roundtable in Muscat. The questions were put by Cash&Trade Cash&Trade: What challenges do Omani institutions (banks and their corporate clients) face with regard to the new regulatory environment …

More than 38 per cent of those in the Middle East who responded to an economic crime survey said they expected their organisations to be victims within the next two years. PAUL WRIGHT, of AccessData Professional Services and Investigations, looks at how companies can cope in the ‘digital world’ The Middle East is fast becoming a prime target of cyber …

Transaction banking – what’s next? MENA banks face major challenge Banks across MENA face a major technical and management challenge if they are to remain a force in the fast-evolving environment of today’s transaction banking – particularly if they want to hang on to their biggest clients. PAUL MELLY investigates what’s changing  Research by the financial software group Misys reveals …

Microsoft has now redesigned and implemented a new cash forecasting process for 200 subsidiaries in 118 countries, creating a unified reporting and holding mechanism. This has allowed it’s treasury to reduce worldwide cash balances by more than $250m dollars and cut cash forecasting variances by between 50 and 70 per cent (to under 15 per cent globally) since the new …

UAE banks aid smaller firms Bid to bolster growth for SMEs Many of the Gulf’s banks are renewing their focus on small-and-medium-sized enterprises and believe that this often-neglected sector could provide a good vehicle for growth. MELANIE LOVATT looks at its prospects Studies show that SMEs in MENA have continued to lack access to financing but that is changing. A …

The Indian steel and manufacturing company Jindal Saw received an order worth $168m from Iraq, with another potential order of $150m provided the quality of goods supplied under the first contract was of an acceptable standard. However, Jindal Saw’s senior management was not keen to supply material to Iraq without assurance on the payment, due to limited control after supplying …

The Basel Committee believes that a simple, non-risk based ‘backstop’ measure will restrict the build-up of excessive leverage in the banking sector to avoid destabilising An underlying cause of the global financial crisis was the build-up of excessive on-and-off- balance-sheet leverage in the banking system, according to the Basel Committee. It said that “in many cases banks built up excessive …

There are signs that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Islamic finance institutions are increasingly looking to the UK in particular and the eurozone to a lesser extent to increase and diversify their trade finance, real estate and other investment portfolios. MUSHTAK PARKER takes up the story London is already one of the world’s largest domiciles for Murabaha business mainly through …

Many MENA banks now spend heavily on cutting-edge technology to keep their clients’ finances secure and protected from cyber fraud. PAUL MELLY looks at the sophistication behind their systems Few industries can have felt the positive impact of automation and online technology to such an extent as banking. What seemed implausible not so long ago is now routine, with massive …

In looking at the wholesale transaction-banking imperative, STEFAN DAB, senior partner and managing director, The Boston Consulting Group, looks at getting business models and execution right Current market dynamics are pointing increasingly to wholesale transaction banking as a key lever for improving return on equity in the global banking industry. In 2012, wholesale transaction-banking revenues were about $220bn, or roughly …

  As it becomes a strategic hub for rising intra-emerging market trade flows, the Middle East is at an inflection point in its development. BNY Mellon’s Bana Akkad Azhari assesses the effect of evolving trade patterns on the region’s transaction banking provision and the role local-global bank collaboration can play in navigating the changes Trade is synonymous with the Middle …