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3 Key Fx Trends for Cfo
Insights

What are the main FX trends facing corporate treasurers in 2023?

Corporates
Outsourcing
Hedging
Automation

Posted by MillTechFX

'4 min

23 January 2023

23 January 2023

Volatility has dominated the foreign exchange (FX) market over the past twelve months. According to Kyriba’s October Currency Impact Report, firms in Europe and North America reported $37.27 billion in currency headwinds in the second quarter of 2022 alone.

The pressure on corporates, a segment of the market that has traditionally struggled with their FX set up, intensified in this new environment. As a result, many are reviewing their FX processes to add in a layer of agility and flexibility so they can readily navigate this increasingly volatile climate.

With many treasurers now planning for the year ahead, here are three key FX trends that we believe are likely to affect the way in which corporates manage their currency exposures in 2023.

Changing face of FX hedging

The task of FX risk management has for many firms gone from second order to a rapidly rising priority. Our 2022 CFO FX survey found that 89% of corporates that do not have a formal hedging programme in place now considering introducing one.

Firms are adapting their hedging strategies to protect themselves against rising volatility and uncertainty in the market. During calmer pre-Covid-19 times, some corporates moved towards more exotic products. In recent months, many have reverted to more straightforward linear products such as forwards which are considered to be more liquid and easier for corporates to unwind should the market move against them.

Shorter hedging lengths can allow corporates to have flexibility to adapt to the changing market rather than locking in a rate for a long time, enabling firms to adjust their exposure if they need to.

Whilst there will be always be some firms that don’t hedge their FX risk at all, we should expect those that previously didn’t to begin doing so. Given the potential for the  , this could be important for US firms who may have a stronger incentive to implement more stringent hedging strategies in 2023.

Automation

For many corporates, FX processes are manual, cumbersome and time-consuming. Nearly two-thirds (65%) use manual execution processes and over a third (36%) still primarily use email for instructing financial transactions, while 29% rely on phone calls.

FX price discovery can often involve multiple phone calls, e-mails or online platforms to log in just to get comparative quotes from counterparties.

This entire process can be a huge drain on time and resources. Corporate treasury teams spend around 1.85 days per week on FX-related matters, while nearly half (47%) spend 2-3 days on such matters.

These challenges have provided the impetus for corporates to begin embracing simple, tech-enabled solutions that digitalise these processes, with 89% of senior-finance decision makers now looking into new technology and platforms to automate their FX operations.

With corporates on the search for efficiency gains and cost-savings, it is likely that many will begin moving away from traditional legacy processes towards more automated digital infrastructure in the coming year.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is set to also gain traction in FX in the year ahead.

FX is one of the largest and most liquid markets in the world, but also one of the most complex. Setting up and onboarding new FX counterparties, centralising price discovery and navigating the post-execution phase often have their own complications and can be a huge administrative burden for some corporates, eating up much needed time and resources.

For these reasons, many Treasury functions are moving towards external solutions that can assist with these steps; according to HSBC and Acuris, 44% of CFOs in larger companies have outsourced some of their day-to-day functions.

With the right partner, outsourcing frees up resources for more effective use elsewhere. The end product is also more likely to be of higher quality, leading to improved execution.  

Heading into 2023, we expect more firms to recognise that outsourcing does not necessarily mean a loss of quality or control, but is in fact an effective way of saving time and money on FX activities.

Navigate 2023 with MillTechFX

With currency volatility expected to continue well into 2023, we believe it is vital that corporate treasury teams partner with the right providers to navigate this landscape.

MillTechFX’s market access, pricing power and operational resource enables it to deliver a tech-enabled integrated solution that delivers transparency, cost reduction and operational burden reduction for senior finance decision-makers at corporates.

We provide access to a transparent marketplace for comparative FX execution from up to 15 counterparty banks, while harnessing a unique and significant pricing efficiency for our clients. Rather than spending months setting up multiple FX facilities with different counterparties, firms can sign up and begin transacting within weeks.

Get in touch with us to find out more about how we can help you navigate your FX challenges in 2023.

 

Some of the data in this blog refers to a survey conducted by Censuswide on MillTechFX’s behalf between June 2022 – July 2022, based on a survey of 251 CFO’s, treasurers and senior finance decision-makers in mid-sized corporates (described as those who have a market cap of £50mil up to £1 billion).

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