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10 years of flow



Seismic change and ongoing economic and geopolitical volatility form the backdrop to this 10th anniversary edition of flow, our annual publication that highlights corporate and transaction banking trends and unique insights from Deutsche Bank Corporate Bank.


Looking back over the past decade, change has always been part of business as usual, and the resilience and agility of our clients shine through year after year.


As always, we thank you for your active engagement with our flow channels (the print magazine, our online content and, more recently, our app). You can count on our dedication and experience to continue reporting on key trends that turn out to have lasting impact as we move into our next 10 years.


We wish you an enjoyable read

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What are the trends that have shaped corporate banking during the past decade?

Timeline Item 1

2015

The internationalisation of the Chinese currency – a 2015 trend that is still relevant today


In our very first issue, we asked, “Are you ready for the renminbi?”. Ten years later, the world is discussing whether the Chinese currency could possibly even replace the dollar as a reserve currency

Read our 2015 analysis Read our 2015 analysis
Timeline Item 2

2016

TRAFIN the trailblazer – a 2016 trend that is still relevant today


The launch of the TRAFIN trade finance loan securitisation underlined the growing demand for trade finance assets from institutional investors. We called it a trailblazer back then and we were right – by 2023, we had closed the 5bn TRAFIN iteration

Read our 2016 analysis Read our 2016 analysis
Timeline Item 3

2017

The potential impact of blockchain – a 2017 trend that is still relevant today


When distributed ledger technology in the form of blockchain came about, we were among the first to analyse its impact on trade and shipping – and many of the trends identified are still relevant today

Read our 2017 analysis Read our 2017 analysis
Timeline Item 4

2018

Taking the road to real-time treasury – a 2018 trend that is still relevant today


Can you imagine steering your treasury with real-time data? When we first covered this, real time was still an aspiration for many corporates. Today many of them have this in their toolkits

Read our 2018 analysis Read our 2018 analysis
Timeline Item 5

2019

ISO 20022 takes off – a 2019 trend that is still relevant today


When we first reported on the new global payments messaging standard it was still in the starting blocks. By November 2025 all banks and corporates must have completed the transition to ISO 20022

Read our 2019 analysis Read our 2019 analysis
Timeline Item 6

2020

Renewable energy comes of age – a 2020 trend that is still relevant today


Five years ago, flow started covering the transition to clean energy in Europe and then in other geographies. Today, this continues to top government policy and its funding touches banks, ministries of finance, as well as private and institutional investors equally

Read our 2020 analysis Read our 2020 analysis
Timeline Item 7

2021

The powerful potential of AI in securities services – a 2021 trend that is still relevant today


Just one year before generative AI had its real breakthrough, we published a white paper on the effectiveness of AI in securities services. This is even more relevant today

Read our 2021 analysis Read our 2021 analysis
Timeline Item 8

2022

Commodities security in a volatile world – a 2022 trend that is still relevant today


Given the rise in geopolitical volatility we reported early on the necessity of rethinking sourcing strategies. In the meantime, critical commodities security has topped government priority lists

Read our 2022 analysis Read our 2022 analysis
Timeline Item 9

2023

An extensive treasury transformation – a 2023 trend that is still relevant today


When we featured Roche’s ambitious treasury transformation, this underlined the benefits that economies of scale and a centralised treasury infrastructure brought to this global pharma giant as it continued its growth

Read our 2023 analysis Read our 2023 analysis
Timeline Item 10

2024

India‘s new growth frontiers – a 2024 trend that is still relevant today


This article suggested that India could become the third-largest economy by size, overtaking Japan and Germany. India currently continues to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world

Read our 2024 analysis Read our 2024 analysis