Borrowers: Borrowers start to play a strategic game

June 01, 1997

The job of borrowers today is to do much more than merely borrow. As well as raising new debt, they must think strategically: taking care of whole portfolios of existing liabilities; managing these liabilities against assets; managing duration and currency gaps between assets and liabilities to beat their benchmarks. Only then can they plan their moves in secondary markets or through new issues. It's a complicated and demanding game.

Many borrowers are also asset managers, investing short-term liquidity. And the heads of borrowing for supranational and financial institutions now often involve themselves even in the lending side of their operations, structuring loans to clients.

The job of the corporate treasurer too is changing. Many now take charge of all financial, and even non-financial risks, using value-at risk measures.

In the pages that follow, Euromoney looks at how the best in the business are playing this ever more complex game.

Borrowers: It's the roadshow, stupid!

Borrowers: Company-at-risk

Borrowers: Euromoney's best borrowers of 1997 Borrowers: Best of the rest by sector or region

Borrowers: Wait for the rate

Borrowers: Moscow moves in

Big Argentine companies with bad addresses...

Borrowers: Bring on the corporates