As corporate treasurers pivot in response to the coronavirus pandemic, nearly half of them on net are planning to diversify their debt and capital structures, according to a new survey released today from TD Bank and Strategic Treasurer.
Meanwhile, 40% on net are seeking to extend the duration of their loan facilities and 28% on net are renewing credit facilities ahead of schedule. A third of corporate treasurers expect their revenues to decrease in the next year as the COVID-19 recession continues, while 44% expect them to rise and 22% to stay the same.
Regarding technology adoption in treasury management:
- More than six in 10 corporates are currently using mobile banking apps and cloud-based fintech solutions.
- Nearly four in 10 are using APIs, and another 30% plan to in the next two years.
- About 15% of treasurers are using predictive analytics or other AI-powered tech, with another 32% planning to adopt in within two years. (The shares of treasurers adopting or near adoption of APIs and AI nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020.)
- While just 15% of treasurers are using same-day ACH or real-time payments now, another 32% plan to deploy faster payments within the next three years.
Roughly four in 10 treasurers ranked better cash management pricing, better customer service and access to high-quality advice as their main considerations for choosing a bank for treasury management. A quarter of firms said they were increasing the formality of their bank relationships (with written plans, bank scorecards and other mechanisms), while 10% said they were reducing the formality of these relationships.
