WORLD'S BEST TREASURY PROVIDERS

Global Finance, Mar 2005 by Platt, Gordon

ASIA

HSBC

HSBC is Asia's leading domestic and cross-border cash management provider, with more than 300,000 operating accounts offering payments and collections services in the region. About two-thirds of those customers are in Hong Kong, but the bank also has the widest geographical reach of any foreign bank in China.

HSBC offers a broad range of cash management services in 20 countries in the region and handles a large volume of transactions in India, as well as Singapore and Malaysia. Its clients range from small and medium-size enterprises to multinational corporations. Clients access the bank's cash management solutions through its global Internet banking channel, HSBCnet. The services are customized to meet individual client requirements and are easily integrated with customers' own systems.

LATIN AMERICA

Citigroup

With more than 8,000 treasury and cash-management clients in Latin America, Citigroup has a presence in 23 countries in the region. Its Miami regional office specializes in shared-service centers and regional treasury hubs, as well as sub-regional clusters throughout Latin America. In 2004 alone, Citigroup implemented more than 50 regional solutions, each involving three to 16 countries.

Latin America can be a difficult environment for collections, with unreliable mail systems and serious problems in reconciliation. Citigroup is helping corporations, both multinational and local enterprises, realize efficiencies through a combination of centralized processing and electronic billing. Citigroup integrates its systems with corporate ERP systems to deliver online real-time reporting with a high level of security.

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

RZB

Austria-based RZB operates 15 subsidiary banks with more than 880 outlets, as well as two representative offices, in Central and Eastern Europe. It offers a full range of cash payment and electronic banking services, as well as cash-pooling services throughout its closely meshed network.

RZB assists multinational and Austrian companies in the CEE market and helps local companies access European markets. It has designed tailor-made solutions to help clients cope with specific capital-market restrictions in countries such as Russia and Ukraine.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

National Bank of Kuwait

National Bank of Kuwait helps clients manage interest-rate, liquidity and foreign exchange risks. The bank, which has the highest credit ratings of any Arab bank, follows a conservative approach to cash management.

With assets of $19 billion at the end of 2004, NBK has a large international network. It operates a subsidiary in Switzerland and an investment management company in London with a branch in Paris. The bank also has offices in the US, Bahrain, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand and a majority stake in National Bank of Kuwait in Lebanon. NBK recently opened a branch in Jordan and acquired a 20% stake in International Bank of Qatar. It has recently taken a 75% stake in Credit Bank of Iraq, which it plans to expand nationwide.