BAML targets Asia Pacific treasury management
BAML has rolled out its treasury management reporting tool in 12 Asia Pacific markets
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has launched a treasury management reporting tool, CashPro Accelerate, in Asia Pacific.
CashPro Accelerate is designed to help clients manage global cash positions. Its main intended benefits are streamlined cash position reporting, reduced manual processing, enhanced reconciliation, automated cash journal entries and account management using customised data templates. The rollout in Asia covers Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The tool was already available in the US.
“CashPro Accelerate is ideal for clients who want to use automation to eliminate the time it takes to manually calculate their cash position, freeing up time to spend analysing the data,” said Cindy Murray, head of global treasury product infrastructure, platforms and ecommerce at BAML.
The technology has been built to integrate with CashPro Online, which is the bank’s web-based banking and financial management product, to retrieve bank account data and provide easier access to information. It also works with the company’s online information reporting module, which is designed to help clients work online to analyse account information. POSCO Investment (Hong Kong), a subsidiary of South Korean steel manufacturer POSCO, is a pilot client of the CashPro Accelerate tool.
“CashProAccelerate is a core component within our ongoing drive to streamline reporting and minimise manual data entry,” said Kim Beom Jin, director of POSCO Investment.
The need for major financial institutions to better keep track of their business processes was highlighted in October, when US business intelligence company QlikTech reported that many firms are relying on outdated information that is inadequate for controlling risks.
Based on a study of risk managers within capital markets companies, the report found that only 5 per cent of risk managers are receiving the information needed to do their jobs in real-time. Some 38 per cent said it took more than four hours to get the latest data after the markets had changed, and 31 per cent of those questioned said they were relying on information only updated on a monthly basis to make important decisions around risk management.
The research also found that 42 per cent of the data was still presented in a static spreadsheet format, with 34 per cent unable to drill further down into the information to get detailed insights. Some 14 per cent admitted that the data held by front office personnel and risk managers was contradictory.
Meanwhile in Europe, the treasury management solutions sector has consolidated in recent months. In January, IT2 Treasury Solutions, a UK company that provides treasury management software and services for large corporations and small and mid-sized financial institutions, was sold to Wall Street Systems, a subsidiary of trading technology provider ION Trading.
