EACT Newsletter - December 2020

We hope you enjoy the December edition of the EACT Newsletter.

As ever, please do follow the EACT LinkedIn page for the very latest member association news and treasury insight.

Jean-Marc Servat
Chair, EACT

In this issue

1. EACT Award 2021
2. An Interview with Jean-Marc Servat, Chair, European Association of Corporate Treasurers.
3. Libor transition – What to Expect from Regulators in the EU
4. From Bitcoin to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
5. EACT Supports Cross-Industry Request for Extension of the Third Country Benchmarks Transition Period
6. EACT joins Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime
7. Stronger FX Hedging Strategies: a Pandemic Game-changer
8. EACT LMA Webinar: Libor Transition & Reference Rate Reform 2020
9. Royal Avebe Wins First DACT Treasury Award
10. 2020 VDT Innovation Award in Cash Management
11. A Multidisciplinary Approach to Preventing Payment Fraud
12. General Trends in TMS Solutions
13. Return on Purpose

 EACT Award 2021

The EACT is delighted to launch the second edition of the EACT award. Each of our 23 national treasury associations members can nominate one outstanding treasury project from within their membership for this award. A jury will shortlist nominees, with Treasurers voting to designate the winner in June 2021.

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An Interview with Jean-Marc Servat, Chair, European Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Jean Marc-Servat discusses his role as chairperson for the EACT, the topics on the association's current agenda, and the requirement for treasurers to be tech-savvy in today's economic climate.

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Libor Transition - What to Expect from Regulators in the EU

Preparing for the definitive end of Libor has been on the mind of policymakers and industry alike for years and we are now entering the final stretch leading up to the definitive cessation of Libor on 31 December 2021 for most currencies in most tenors.

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From Bitcoin to Central Bank Digital Currency (CDBC)

In October 2020, seven major central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a joint report laying out the key requirements for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). At the same time the European Central Bank (ECB) launched a public consultation on a digital euro and announced it will decide in Q2 2021 whether to pursue the launch of a digital euro.

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EACT Supports Cross-Industry Request for Extension of the Third Country Benchmarks Transition Period

The EACT – alongside the other signatories of this paper - believe it is critically important that the transition period for third country benchmarks under the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR) should be extended beyond the end of 2021 to end-2025. This would ensure that non-financial companies can continue to use third country benchmarks to hedge risks arising from their commercial activities.

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EACT Joins Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime

The EACT has become a member of the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime (GCFFC).

Corporate treasurers are high risk individuals for becoming victims of financial crime due to their level of access and control over company finances and operations. Raising awareness and encouraging a public-private partnership in the development of effective practices will enhance the ability of companies to shore up their defences against financial crime – in all of its facets.

We are proud to be a member of such a broad coalition to advance dialogue, develop best practices, and shape the evolution of the regulatory landscape to limit the ability of actors to undermine the security and integrity of our financial system and the wider economy.

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Stronger FX Hedging Strategies: a Pandemic Game-changer

As the pandemic continues to throw markets into confusion, forcing corporates to battle against unprecedented volatility, treasury functions have an opportunity, albeit uninvited, to prove their strategic value – especially in relation to FX risk management.

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EACT LMA Webinar: Libor Transition & Reference Rate Reform 2020

On 12 November the EACT and the Loan Market Association (LMA) organised a webinar for treasures on Libor transition and reference rate reform. View a recording here.

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Royal Avebe Wins First DACT Treasury Award

After an exciting battle, the winner of the DACT Treasury Award 2020 has been announced. Avebe received most votes from the members of the Dutch Association of Corporate Treasurers (DACT). ASML and Royal Schiphol Group came second and third respectively.

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2020 VDT Innovation Award in Cash Management

With more than three hundred "player impressions" (counted via the livestream) and the positive feedback afterwards, the 2020 VDT Innovation Award in Cash Management was a success, to which the participants, the viewers and not least the committed VDT office team contributed.

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Contributions from Across our Member Associations

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Preventing Payment Fraud

An escalation in fraud and cybercrime activities has been observed in recent months, as cyber attackers have been able to make use of the weaknesses caused by the current health crisis.

This article is from La Lettre du trésorier, No. 381, October 2020, magazine of the AFTE, the French member association of EACT.

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General Trends in TMS Solutions

TMS’s have evolved over time, and especially in the last couple of years with a huge leap in technologies. Now, treasurers are investigating how TMS's can help in further modernising the finance function in the coming years.

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Return on Purpose

During the pandemic we have increasingly heard how important it is that companies consider their corporate purpose. Typically, this results in a series of nebulous and hard to define concepts, created by marketing and consultancy firms. Return on Purpose looks at a variety of activities that a company undertakes and identifies individual ROIs for each of them to come up with an overall holistic view.

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