The balance between centralized and local processes in cash management is a complex issue that varies according to the special requirements of particular corporates. Users and providers discuss the issues in this roundtable.

Moscow’s attempt to develop as an important financial centre is at the core of a series of capital markets-friendly legislative changes. Euromoney talks to investors, City of Moscow officials, exchange heads and regulators about progress so far and what is to come.

Inward investment is rising, government debt ratios are falling, and a government of national unity has ambitious plans to revitalize Lebanon’s economy. Bankers and politicians alike want to capitalize on what could be an unprecedented opportunity to transform Lebanon’s fortunes.

In all the talk of regulation, the distinction between settlement risk and counterparty risk seems to have been blurred. The FX market survived the crisis best.

Turmoil in banking has changed transaction services. Just as it has become crucial to extract every last efficiency from treasury, clients face new choices and new uncertainties. How should they choose their banks? How can they manage their risks? What should their treasury look like?

In a cash-scarce world, electronic bells and whistles take second place to systems and partners that help clients marshal their global liquidity as quickly and visibly as possible. Maximizing working capital throughout the supply chain is now a necessity, not a luxury. Clients and banks must change.

Emerging Europe had a tough 2009, but as a new year dawns central bankers across the region hope it will bring back economic growth. The debate about regulation and ring-fencing capital begins here as they discuss how to prevent the region from plunging back into recession. Interviews by Chloe Hayward.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the changing nature of the interbank market, liquidity has returned to most corners of foreign exchange. But uncertainties remain over quantitative easing, Japan and the recovery. The panel gathered at the end of 2009 to find we are still in uncharted territory.

Russia’s capabilities have been stretched by the global financial crisis and an economic slowdown but its dominant position as a commodity exporter can still be a strength if the necessary reform and reconstruction measures are put in place. A panel of Russia analysts discusses the key issues.

The post-credit-crunch environment has thrown the spotlight on intra-day liquidity facilities. Once taken for granted, these have now become a symbol of the changing relationships between banks and clients in cash management, and of the stresses still inherent in the global credit system.

The country’s banking crisis of 2000/01 spurred the regulatory regime that has served it so well during today’s global turmoil. But can it continue on a path of sustainable, low-volatility growth? And are investors demanding too high a risk premium for a stable credit and solid banking system?

Wealth management services are relatively underdeveloped in the Gulf region. But local and foreign private banks and family offices have broad opportunities to develop their business.

One banker contrives a metaphor to defend the universal banking model. If you set two BMW 5 Series cars to race around a track and only one makes it back, that tells you that one of the drivers made a mistake, not that the BMW is a bad car. So don’t junk universal banking, through a forced separation into utility banking, comprising retail deposit-taking and commercial lending, away from trading in securities, just to punish the mistakes of poor chief executives who drove their banks into a wall in the reckless pursuit of profits in complex instruments that they didn’t understand, using leveraged proprietary risk-taking they couldn’t control.

The market is relatively young but it has had a brutal education over the past year as the financial crisis has swept through every corner of the financial markets. Where next for inflation-linked products?

In the second part of Euromoney’s foreign exchange debate, which took place in late 2008, industry experts consider the future for the business. There is still cause for optimism, although inflation remains a big unknown and there are real fears of governments’ ability to sustain debt levels.

Deleveraging is the key word of the moment and there is still a long way to go for banks and hedge funds. Beyond that, the impact in the real economy of the banking crisis is only just starting to appear. The tools at governments’ disposal may not be strong enough to handle the challenge. Is a raft of new regulation inevitable?

As in all other areas of financial services, the credit crunch has made its presence felt in international cash management. Banks and corporates have found their relationships and business practices severely tested and have found out who they can, and cannot, trust in a downturn.

The market is growing fast in Muslim countries and among Muslim communities. Its fuller development, Euromoney’s roundtable of experts suggests, depends on clearer views on objectives, further development of regulation and standardization of products and approaches.

Corporates can see the potential of shared service centres for reasons including compliance and costs, increased back office efficiency and labour arbitrage. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Longevity risk is a continuing, ever changing problem for pension schemes, determining the assets they have to deploy to cover their liabilities. Seven specialists look at how risk is identified and the different techniques and products available to cope with it.

Continuing problems are forcing firms to reconsider market timing, the balance between public and private funding and the importance of neglected sources such as retail and corporate deposits. Six specialists debate the issues.

Chief executives need to lead from the front to achieve cross-company support for supply chain management projects and they need to identify the right partners to help them adopt successful strategies.

The continent’s main markets, such as Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Angola, are attracting growing interest from investors. Foreign and local emerging market financial specialists analyse this change of attitude.

The market looks set to remain buoyant, especially in the key Gulf centres, with a widening variety of access routes for investors and developers prepared to commit themselves to local contacts and a local presence.

Prime brokers' relationships with hedge funds have inevitably be modified by the credit crunch but ultimately the brokers have to provide the full range of services funds require at a reasonable cost and without undue constraints.

The effects of the credit crunch have spread across all areas of finance, affecting even the world’s most liquid market: swaps in euros. People still want to do business, but banks need to reorder their balance sheets and regain confidence. And that could take a long time.

Capital markets and financial services have advanced dramatically in the past few years across Africa. In this debate, Nigerian bankers and informed foreign peers discuss the achievements and the upcoming challenges.

The commodity price boom masks fundamental questions about the value of commodity investments in a portfolio, the choice of commodities and the most constructive use of indices. Euromoney’s debate panel grapples with the crucial issues.

The sideways, low-volatility markets of the past two years are gone, so how should investors review their currency management strategies? Should they consider shifting mandates from quant to discretionary? And should capital preservation take over from return maximization?

Sepa came into being in January but there is still much work to be done before the full benefits come through for banks and corporate customers. What are the main threats or opportunities of the developments? What obstacles have to be overcome? Euromoney’s debate panel wrestles with the key issues.