FLOW HALL OF FAME

MACRO AND MARKETS, COVID-19

Central banks: on-side or outside?

With all eyes on the jaw-dropping US$10trn of fiscal Covid-19 support, what is happening with monetary policy? As the IMF puts it, “a decade after central bankers became pivotal actors in the Global Financial Crisis, central banks around the world are striving to fulfill their mandates under difficult circumstances.” We look at central bank independence in an era when all developed central banks have cut rates to zero and are buying trillions of assets. As a follow-on to this article we also recommend taking a look at our update on Central Bank Digital Currencies here.

CASH MANAGEMENT

Responsible innovation

When Javier Pérez-Tasso took up his role as SWIFT’s top executive on 1 July 2019, little did he know that just months later the world would be plunged into the first recession triggered by a pandemic and the deepest economic contraction in decades. flow picks up the conversation with SWIFT’s CEO in advance of the first virtual Sibos to hear more about connecting four billion accounts across the world in an instant and how SWIFT has innovated and adapted to extend financial inclusion and keep payments safe

MACRO AND MARKETS, COVID-19

Covid-19 and inflation

After 30 years of low inflation, this benign era could end abruptly once second/third waves are history, lockdowns lifted, vaccines distributed and economic activity rebounds after the Covid-19 shock. This article explores the spectres of hyperinflation - and deflation

PODCASTS, SUSTAINABLE FINANCE

flow podcast episode 5: The licence to operate

Launched at the beginning of 2020, flow podcasts are presented by Editorial Director Janet Du Chenne, here in this fifth episode we hear from Deutsche Bank Corporate Bank’s Gerald Podobnik, Head of Sustainability on what it really means to combat climate change in terms of the substantial changes required from companies – including this bank. In other words, the licence to operate means making ESG a strategic imperative, not a box-ticking, greenwashing exercise

WHITE PAPERS

A Guide to Trade Finance

Deutsche Bank’s foundation was fostered on international trade finance – so as the Bank celebrated its 150^th anniversary we presented this Guide to Trade Finance to the industry as an anniversary gift. Put together by seasoned trade finance experts, it explains the fundamentals of financing cross-border trade in practice, so ideal for discussions when some parties may not be familiar with trade finance and all its variations. Since publication in May 2020, this has enjoyed several thousand downloads

TRUST AND AGENCY SERVICES

The personal touch

Global pharmaceutical corporate AstraZeneca is one of the mainstream Covid-19 vaccine producers and in April become the largest company in the UK’s FTSE 100. Thomas Larsen, Head of Investor Relations talks to flow about a strategy that has stood the multinational company in good stead and helped it maintain relationships with investors when they can’t host AGMs and roadshows in person.
After the piece ran, he made the following comment about flow: “It’s a very professional magazine and a great business card for Deutsche Bank."

TRADE FINANCE

Trade and the blockchain – where are we now?

Posted almost three years ago, the original version of this article, together with this update on trade finance and the blockchain received an unprecedented number of hits, testament to the topic’s ongoing relevance – as well as the fact a robust widely adoptable solution has not yet been found. Case studies showing how trade finance using the blockchain facilitated shipments of dairy products to China, wheat from the US to Indonesia and sugar cane from Asia to Africa are included together with a closer look at the collaboration between IBM and Maersk in the form of the TradeLens platform

SECURITIES SERVICES

Fast-forwarding capital markets

This BNY Mellon case study provides the industry with a template for how client collaboration should be in post-trade service provision. It starts with strong synergies between BNY and Deutsche Bank. Both are at similar points on their transformation journeys so as their sub-custodian in many capital markets, we collaborate with them on APIs, chatbots and data dashboards as described in the article. An example is the co-creation of an API-based FX custody solution to automate manual processes, reduce latency in emerging markets and deliver transparency to the global custodian’s broker clients. Head of FX at BNY Mellon Jordan Barnett commented on the Deutsche Bank/BNY Mellon relationship, “This is the new baseline for being our sub-custodian”. In addition, the video Automating FX custody using APIs (28 September 2020) is a helpful reminder the innovation deployed in this relationship

VIDEOS, TRADE FINANCE

Trade Finance TV: West Africa‘s trade and Covid-19

Undeterred by Covid-19 closing our London studio, Trade Finance TV took to the video conference waves to broadcast from work-at-home environments. One of these was this discussion of how sub-Saharan Africa was using its experience of tackling pandemics as well as being home to the world’s youngest populations as it navigates economic recovery.

Presented by flow Editorial Director Clarissa Dann, this episode welcomed Deutsche Bank’s Lagos-based Jaiyeola Dauda and independent trade economist Dr Rebecca Harding discussed how Africa’s intra-regional trade remains low (around 16% of all trade) and border closures have created huge inefficiencies.