Corporates call on banks to join ''the players'' - Sibos forum for corporates
round-up
16 Sep 2009

Day two of the 2009 Sibos forum for corporates in Hong Kong opened with bank readiness on the top of the agenda. Timely, as the topic figured prominently in yesterday’s sessions, as corporates called for more action on this front.

“SWIFT is not here to tell banks what to offer in a competitive space. We are eager to support you as our members so you are better enabled to meet corporate customer requirements,” said Elie Lasker, Head of Corporate Market, SWIFT . “30% more banks offer SWIFT for corporates compared to this time last year and we are working closely with our banks to help more join the club.”

Ignacio Escudero, Vice President, Global Cash Management Sales, BBVA reinforced that SWIFT is complementary to proprietary channels. “Either you are a player or you are not,” he challenged those in the room.

“When you discover a new market, you need to have support in place you can rely on. SWIFT for corporates does this,” added Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management, BNP Paribas. “SWIFT for corporates enables BNP Paribas to deploy cash management strategy for corporates globally. Do not wait. Do it now. It’s time to move towards SWIFT for corporates.”

Panellists reinforced that SWIFT for corporates is not competition but a means to enable the bank to extend its offering to corporate customers. Differentiation between banks should be on added value and continually evolving.

This year, we set ourselves a challenge as a team. How can we make the forum more interactive? Tinted with a touch of innovation, we divided up in the room into four corners and four topics: bank readiness, business case, implementation and offering. The results were encouraging. Partners, banks and mainly Asian corporates joined what soon became a lively exchange of questions and information about SWIFT for corporates. European corporates in the “working groups” enthusiastically contributed to the conversation and candidly shared their experiences about implementation. ‘’More collaboration” between corporates, banks and vendors unfolded spontaneously before our very eyes!

“Corporate requirements for collaborative bank solutions” began as a looking glass into the past as panelists recognized the tremendous efforts the community has already made to accelerate adoption of corporates in Asia and to meet corporate demands such as remittance information. This despite recommendations for the future: only 12 characters being available rather than David Blair’s initial call for 18 characters in Singapore 2003. Corporate panelists also called for additional action from SWIFT and the banks in areas such as TSU for corporates , EBAM and regulation.

Moderator Manish Jain, Managing Director, Global Transaction Services, Citi closed the two day forum for corporates with a challenge for the future, asking SWIFT for corporates pioneers Microsoft and Total about their experience over the last five years. What was their main reason for joining SWIFT and plans for the future? Both corporate treasury representatives recognized the qualitative benefits were predominant.

“Look at SWIFT for corporates not just from a treasury perspective but enterprise wide,” encouraged Christina Easton, Senior Manager, Global Cash Operations, Microsoft Treasury.

You heard it here. Comments, questions? Let us know and watch for a full wrap up of the Sibos 2009 forum for corporates next week. Our thanks to all of our partners: Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, HSBC, ICBC, J.P. Morgan, Société Générale and Standard Chartered together with the IACCT (International Association of CFOs and Corporate Treasurers in China, TMI, Treasury Today, gtnews and EuroFinance.

Your support, together with the active participation and enthusiasm of all corporates, banks and partners in the room is much appreciated. Thank you! In the words of Marilyn Spearing, Chairperson SWIFT Corporate Advisory Group and Global Head of Trade Finance & Cash Management Corporates, Deutsche Bank, “There is precious time in corporate treasury to get together, let’s make sure we find the right forum to collaborate - more.”