Cash management poll 2008: Results
Citi: the $6.5 billion start-up
Third-party provision finally takes off
Emerging markets: challenges remain
Financial institutions: uncertainty breeds competition
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| Cash captains (l-r): Paul Galant (Citi), Werner Steinmüller (Deutsche), Andrew Long (HSBC), Brian Stevenson (RBS/ABN Amro) |
THE TIMING OF the cash management industry’s annual Sibos jamboree in Vienna in September appeared symbolic. The event was book-ended by Lehman Brothers’ collapse and Bank of America’s absorption of Merrill Lynch the weekend before delegates arrived and Goldman Sachs’ and Morgan Stanley’s shock decisions to become bank holding companies the following weekend. The significance of the seismic shift occurring in investment banking was not lost on delegates. It seemed no coincidence that as they discussed the explosive growth of transaction services, the last two sizeable independent investment banks in the US were preparing to raise the white flag. Although no one cared to voice it, the underlying message was clear: here are the new masters of the banking universe.
The cash management business is enjoying a purple patch. It is hugely revenue generative at a time when many other banking streams have withered away.