Banks involved in trade should be striving to find a practical solution to today’s challenges while also working towards the ideal of a purely digital future.

Euromoney and J.P. Morgan conducted a survey of global corporate treasurers to find out what they see as the biggest challenges they currently face, and assess their expectations for 2017. The survey enjoyed an overwhelming response, with more than 230 respondents sharing their thoughts, from over 30 countries.

The surprises and uncertainty that characterized 2016 for treasury will continue this year. While some clarifications will materialize, the confluence of traditional and emerging priorities will also challenge decision-making. J.P. Morgan has identified the main areas of focus for treasury professionals below.

Euromoney hosts a number of annual economic and investment forums in tier-two and tier-three cities across China.

As corporate treasures look ahead to 2017, the global outlook remains mixed, yet with positive momentum from gradually improving economic conditions.

Pension plans of many European companies are in crisis. Longer life expectancy entails paying out more in defined benefits, while volatile equity markets and low-yielding bonds have cut deep into investment returns. At the same time, the historically low interest rates and credit spreads result in higher discounted values of pension liabilities. Satu Jaatinen, Global Head of Corporate and Investor Solutions at Commerzbank, examines the strategic options for safeguarding pensions at risk.

The UK’s departure from the European Union will have significant short-, medium- and long-term impacts. Steve Elms, EMEA Head of Corporate and Public Sector Sales, within Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions team, is joined by fellow Treasury and Trade Solutions sector specialists John Murray, Roberto Di Stefano, Peter Cunningham and James Lee to assess the outlook for the airline, automotive, healthcare, and technology, media and telecoms sectors in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave.

Corporates are increasingly embracing bank-agnostic connectivity and other solutions that make communicating with banks more straightforward. Only those banks that show leadership and make the necessary investment in these innovative technologies will prosper in this new era.

Amid a dynamic and evolving investment banking environment, in which the largest players are struggling, some more nimble operators are bucking the trend and achieving returns on equity comparable to before the financial crisis.

Macroeconomic and geopolitical forces are creating an environment of heightened risks, divergent growth, and tax and regulatory uncertainty for corporates. Here we draw on Citi Treasury Diagnostics, our global treasury benchmarking platform, to reveal the top treasury priorities of leading companies, and share insights into how the corporate treasury can support global business objectives.