Deutsche Bank introduces new renminbi services and is appointed depositary bank
Deutsche Bank’s global transaction banking (GTB) business has expanded the renminbi services it offers to its clients with the addition of escrow services in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The escrow services are provided through Deutsche Bank’s trust and securities services (TSS) business arm within GTB and offers debt, loan, renminbi bank account and structured finance services.
“As renminbi is increasingly being used as a currency in international business transactions, we understand that it is crucial for our corporate and institutional clients worldwide to have these renminbi-denominated services both offshore and onshore in China,” said Sally Gilding, managing director and head of Asia for Deutsche Bank’s trust and agency services business, in a statement.
In addition, Deutsche Bank has been appointed as the depositary bank for China’s NetQin Mobile American Depositary Receipt programme. NetQin is a mobile internet security and productivity services provider headquartered in Beijing.
Bank of Hangzhou selects trade finance solution from SmartStream
SmartStream has secured a mandate from China’s Bank of Hangzhou to implement its TLM Trade Finance solution through its local partner, Brilliance Technology. The solution will help the bank manage its international settlement business and foreign exchange clearing. According to Sai Xuejin, vice-president of international business at Bank of Hangzhou, TLM Trade Finance has helped the bank in terms of “enriching our international settlement products, enhancing our clearing system and automating the clearing process”.
“We are seeing an increasing number of city commercial banks looking to standardise their operations and streamline their workflows as a result of business development and expansion,” said Zhang YanSheng, executive president at Brilliance Technologies, in a statement.
Trade finance is a key component of Bank of Hangzhou’s development strategy. The value of its international settlements increased to $4.5 billion in 2010 from $2.7 billion in 2009. It has already processed more than $1.4 billion of international settlements in the first three months of this year.
Logica wins payments mandate from Westpac New Zealand
Westpac New Zealand has selected a payments solution from global business and technology service company Logica. The solution, called Logica All Payments Solution (Laps), will provide the bank with a centralised and domestic payments hub. In addition, Laps will help the bank meet the Settlement Before Interchange (SBI) initiative in New Zealand, due to come into effect in 2011 and designed to reduce settlement risk.
“Increasing regulation and the SBI initiative meant that we needed a payment services hub to achieve compliance and a scalable system to allow for future growth,” said Greg Byrne, head of business products and strategy at Westpac New Zealand, in a statement.
Reval launches new SaaS solution
Global corporate financial risk management software-as-a-solution (SaaS) provider, Reval, has released SaaS version 11.0. According to Reval, the new version will strengthen a company’s ability to respond quickly to volatility in foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity markets.
“As volatility continues across all asset classes, corporate treasurers are asking for more automated workflow and first-rate risk management analytics to sense and respond to hedging exposures,” said Philip Pettinato, chief operating officer at Reval, in a statement. “We’ve continued to connect the flow of information and expand the risk management functionality that clients need to get where they want to be in their hedge policies.”
Toyota expands use of SunGard’s treasury solution
Toyota Financial Services, the finance business of Japanese car manufacturer Toyota, has expanded its use of SunGard’s AvantGard treasury solution to its international businesses. The two firms have partnered since 2002 when Toyota Financial Services first implemented AvantGard to automate processes and support the growth of its treasury.
“Many global companies with treasuries that operate regionally are challenged by inconsistent date and reporting formats, disparate systems and an inability to gain an overarching view of positions,” said Paul Bramwell, senior vice-president of treasury solutions for SunGard’s corporate liquidity business, in a statement. “A common treasury platform also helps treasurers gain real-time access to data and a complete view of cash flowing across the broader organisation, regardless of how widely dispersed the operations may be.”
According to Bramwell, AvantGard helps companies more easily consolidate and aggregate disparate data and pinpoint global cash positions for better decision-making.
Western Union launches payments service in the Philippines
Global payment services provider, Western Union, has launched its international payments service in the Philippines. Working with Petnet, a partner agent for its consumer money transfer services, Western Union will be able to offer cross-border business payments and foreign exchange solutions to small and medium-size enterprises in the Philippines.
“With a thriving import market for food products and beverages, textiles, chemicals, travel and wholesale and retail trade, the Philippines presents a compelling opportunity for our international business payments service,” said Raj Agrawal, general manager of Western Union Business solutions, in a statement.
