-
Thought leadership
at its best
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
flow Digest
Sign up for insights Go beyond the headlines
flow Digest delivers actionable insights to help you stay ahead of emerging trends and drive business success
Sign up for insights Sign up for insightsWhat are the trends that have shaped corporate banking during the past decade?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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