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Corporate Treasury ESG Practical Approaches

Report date: 
6 Dec 2023

Commentary

What do companies really think about climate change? What are they really doing?

This call on ESG was lively and gave us some valuable insights. I strongly recommend reading the detailed report. 

Two years ago, when we last discussed this, the main takeaways were:

  • Treasurers were interested in green bonds and financing, but very wary of the lack of clear standards
  • Treasury has a role to play, for example in selecting banks with good green credentials – but this needs to be part of an enterprise wide approach, which was often lacking.
  • The “E” part of the equation tends to receive more focus than the “S” and “G”.

This time, the discussion was very different. The reporting issues and the need for standards has received a lot of media attention recently – but our participants have mostly moved on. Interest in these products has waned: one participant said that, if investors consider the company to be green, the bonds will be priced accordingly, while another found it too hard to prove that the proceeds were being used in a green way. Green investments generally presented many issues, including tracking environmental credentials, and the need for unacceptably long tenors.

Instead, a picture emerged where:

  • All the companies represented have a real commitment to improving sustainability
  • Treasurers are finding it easier to collaborate with other functions for reporting, as ESG goals are becoming more central to corporate strategies. Though one participant finds the US focuses more on “S” and “G” than Europe. 
  • From an “E” perspective, European banks were seen as being more proactive than their US counterparts with BNP Paribas, Scandinavian and Dutch banks name checked as thought leaders.
  • Many companies are using VPPAs (Virtual Power Purchase Agreements) to help improve their carbon footprint. This tool, also known in the US as a REC
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Topics covered in this report: 
ESG, Green Bonds, Green Investments, Supply Chain Finance, VPPA, PPA
Service providers discussed in this report: 
BNP Paribas, Citi, JP Morgan, Société Générale, ING, Rabobank, Handelsbanken, MUFG, HSBC, Nordea, SEB

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Turkey Corporate Treasury Update

Report date: 
20 Nov 2023

Commentary

Turkey is a challenging environment – but it works. Inflation is around 85%, the currency is depreciating rapidly and very expensive to hedge, and funding is regulated and very hard to obtain. Two years ago, restrictions were placed on the remittance of dividends, though today, those restrictions have been lifted and there are no formal exchange controls. 

Despite all this, participants on our call generally reported growing businesses, with positive results.

The main challenges:

  • Overdrafts are not available, or they are prohibitively expensive. This is not new: the country has always imposed cost penalties on short term borrowing. The central bank now requires a reserve deposit for all loans: one participant said this was 60%, while another reported 200%. Either way, this has effectively made local loans all but impossible.
  • One way of satisfying reserve requirements is to purchase Turkish government T-bills. No foreign bank is prepared to do this, so funding via international core relationship foreign banks is no longer possible. Local banks are generally also reluctant to lend: the few exceptions are government owned banks.
  • Bank deposits in foreign currency hardly receive any interest; local currency ones attract interest at around 30%, against an inflation rate of about 85%.
  • Given this, and given the high rate of inflation, there is a lot of pressure on working capital: customers are seeking longer payment terms, while suppliers are looking to be paid early. One participant has sought, without success, to put in place supply chain financing solutions.
  • Most participants manage to run their businesses with no debt. Cross border intercompany
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Topics covered in this report: 
Bank Relationships, Hedging FX, Funding, Cash Pooling - cross border, Cross border sweeping, Dividends
Service providers discussed in this report: 
BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Citi, HSBC, TEB, ING, Yapi Kredi

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