Multibank Relationship Management in Middle East and Africa

10 Multibank Relationship Management in Middle East and Africa regulatory complexity and globally standardised frameworks. Trade finance transactions are also typically lower in frequency and higher in value, allowing centralised teams to handle them efficiently from a shared service centres - very often located outside of MEA or at HQ level with support of domestic banks of the respective MNC. We have observed that many MNCs are willing to pay premium for centralising trade at HQ level rather than adopt decentralised approach for achieving better pricing conditions. FX centralisation is generally easier than cash management, but harder than trade finance mainly because some countries impose capital and FX controls requiring in-country execution, requirement to trade local currencies and necessity tomanage markets with higher volatility. Regular reviews Conducting regular assessments of each banking relationship ensures that the services provided align with the MNCs evolving needs. This practice enables MNCs to identify underperforming relationships and make informed decisions about consolidating or terminating certain banking collaborations. Some corporates schedule annual reviews with all their banks to discuss service, funding and product offerings. This allows the corporate to provide feedback and become aware of any developments in the pipeline from the bank that may enhance their experience/ operations. Other companies issue RFPs on regular basis as part of their treasury policy. Good practice is to have bank relationship reviews focused on improvements onMNC’s Treasury KPIs - for example cash visibility percentage, forecast accuracy ratio, counterparty risk, repatriation of trapped cash, average DPO and DSO etc. RFPs involve significant time, effort and resources and would typically be triggered by a shared local and regional view that the incumbent bank(s) is not supporting us appropriately. We view our banking relationships as long term and may RFP a given market with the goal to rationalize our banking landscape and ensure significant wallet allocation across all partner banks. Other factors such as price competitiveness would also be primary as it adds tangible value to the actual business of the entities. Nora Sena Regional Treasurer of Nestlé for Middle East and Africa