Treasury Review

Executive Summary

Since 2014, Asset Benchmark Research has gathered the views of corporate treasurers and CFOs in Asia on their current and planned treasury activities in the annual Treasury Review.

The survey asks about a range of topics such as their treasury set up, bank relations; risk management; review of treasury solutions and their outlook for the year ahead. Corporates are asked about the challenges they face in their treasury operations both from a daily operational and long-term strategic perspective.

There is also an emphasis on reviewing how corporates leverage technology in their business either to automate payables, improve reconciliation or rationalize banking connectivity. The review is conducted in the first half of the year.

The Asset Client Satisfaction Index

Asset Benchmark Research conducted their Treasury Review from February through to April of this year. As part of the review, respondents were asked to score banks they work with for treasury, cash management and trade finance. These ratings form the basis of The Asset Client Satisfaction Index.

Treasury in Practice

Asset Benchmark Research in partnership with Bank of Communications reached out to 1,123 treasurers and CFOs on their treasury objectives over the next 12 months. This report details the financial risks CFOs and treasurers face in running their businesses and compares the experience of China corporates to those based in the rest of Asia-Pacific. The report also covers cross-border netting practices and the risks and financing activities of Chinese companies relating to overseas M&A.

Bracing for Volatility, Embracing Change

Asset Benchmark Research and Thomson Reuters sought the feedback from more than 1,000 corporate treasurers and CFOs in Asia on trends and challenges in their fields. The report features detailed data on, among others, treasury centralization efforts, management of market and non-market financial risks and the adoption of electronic solutions within Asian corporate treasury units.

Asset Benchmark Research 2015 Treasury Review Series

In this series CFOs and treasurers shared their opinions, concerns and predictions. They were asked about a range of topics such as their treasury set up, bank relations; risk management; review of treasury solutions; offshore Renminbi; and their outlook for 2016.

What CFO's/treasurers want - Issues and solutions

Treasurers and CFOs from more than 700 corporates in 19 countries shared the challenges they face both from daily operational and long-term strategic viewpoints in Asset Benchmark Research's 2015 "What CFOs/treasurers want - Issues and Solutions" report. The major pain point for most of them? Payables and collections. This report documents the transformations corporate treasuries in Asia undergo when switching to electronic payments, richer reporting and smarter collection techniques. The report also looks at innovative structured trade financing and risk management solutions employed in the region.

Focus on Liquidity - Treasury Practice in China

High funding costs for all but the largest enterprises and deteriorating payment experiences call for innovative liquidity management solutions in China. Based on interviews with more than 440 treasurers and CFOs of Chinese corporates, ranging in size from SMEs to emerging MNCs, Asset Benchmark Research's 2015 "Focus on Liquidity - Treasury Practice in China" report outlines the challenges faced by domestic corporate treasuries and how these compare with the rest of Asia. The report provides insights into what is sure to become the largest growth market for transaction banking.

What works in Asia - Tech trends in transaction banking

Some still believe, in Asia, STP really stands for "straight-to-paper". Asset Benchmark Research's 2015 "What works in Asia - Tech trends in transaction banking" report makes clear: the conception could not be further from the truth. Asian corporates want to leverage technology to automate payables, improve reconciliation and rationalize banking connectivity. Bank proprietary online banking platforms for corporate clients are fast losing market share to H2H and Swift connectivity, with nearly one in four centralized treasuries partaking in our survey already communicating payment messages to their banks via Swift.

Methodology

Our dedicated team converses with respondents either by telephone interview or directing them to an online questionnaire. Face-to-face interviews may also be conducted. Because we speak directly to our respondents instead of merely passing on forms they can fill out, we provide an in-depth look into the perspective of corporates that few others are capable of. Qualitative feedback and observations are transcribed and reported alongside quantitative output, giving subscribers detailed, actionable results.