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Supply chain finance gains steam amid pandemic disruptions

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Supply chain finance gains steam amid pandemic disruptions

The pandemic and subsequent financial disruptions are prompting main development in a product banks have lengthy provided: provide chain finance. 

It helps suppliers keep on higher monetary footing, permitting them to receives a commission earlier for the products they’ve offered. It is interesting for firms shopping for the provides, too, as a result of it helps guarantee suppliers stay wholesome and hold offering items at a time of persistent shortages and rising prices. 

Although provide chain finance has an extended historical past — with roots stemming from historical Mesopotamia however extra not too long ago rising within the Eighties and Nineties — bankers say the pandemic has highlighted its worth.

“It clicked, and it clicked quick,” stated John McQuiston, head of structuring and program administration at Wells Fargo’s international provide chain group, including that gentle bulbs turned on “over the heads of the treasurers and [chief financial officers] of massive and small and midsized firms alike.”

Provide chain finance is totally different than factoring, the place suppliers use invoices due them to get cash upfront from a lender, which earnings by taking a large chunk of the accounts receivable. 

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For a lot of suppliers, provide chain finance could be cheaper than factoring as a result of they’re bringing that bill to the client’s lender, relatively than their very own, to receives a commission earlier. By doing so, they’re able to use the client’s credit score standing — which is usually higher as a result of they’re bigger — to find out the haircut their bill will get. The haircut is usually smaller due to the client’s decrease credit score prices, letting the provider hold extra of the cash.

Patrons additionally profit, because it lowers their suppliers’ price of working and helps the suppliers keep afloat throughout instances of stress.

That’s vital for firms that rely on a key provider to make their merchandise, because it helps enhance the provider’s money move and “keep that move of provide,” stated Bryan Ford, head of treasury administration at Areas Financial institution in Birmingham, Alabama.

A decade in the past, bankers wanted to take extra time to elucidate the mechanics of provide chain finance after they known as on their industrial shoppers’ suppliers, based on Geoff Brady, head of worldwide commerce and provide chain finance at Financial institution of America. However now, suppliers are extra acquainted with the advantages to each events.

“That is what is producing the expansion, whenever you see this profit on each side,” Brady stated.

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Provide chain finance volumes within the Americas grew to an estimated $995 billion in 2021, up from $726 billion in 2020 and $530 billion in 2019, based on the newest World Provide Chain Finance report from BCR Publishing.

Volumes had been on an upward development within the years earlier than the pandemic, as patrons realized that the belt-tightening following the 2007-08 monetary disaster was hurting their suppliers. 

For years after the disaster, giant companies regarded to spice up their money move by delaying their funds to suppliers so long as they might, doubtlessly a number of months. Then they realized that “extending cost phrases shouldn’t be free” and was placing their suppliers in stress, stated Miami College professor Lisa Ellram, who co-edited a e book on provide chain finance.

Provide chain finance lets firms hold these prolonged cost phrases — and reap the advantages of hanging onto their money longer — all whereas giving their suppliers an inexpensive choice to receives a commission earlier.

However its development shouldn’t be with out dangers. Banks are opening themselves as much as threat by assuming that their shoppers can pay the financial institution again for paying invoices from suppliers early, a prospect that will grow to be harder if financial turbulence hits, Ellram stated.

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The sector is getting extra scrutiny after the collapse of the nonbank firm Greensill Capital, a British and Australian agency that offered provide chain financing and went bankrupt after straying into riskier territory. Final yr’s scandal remains to be hampering the Swiss financial institution Credit score Suisse, together with via a high-stakes court docket battle with the Japanese funding big SoftBank, which invested in Greensill.

The Securities and Change Fee can be taking a more in-depth have a look at provide chain finance, for the reason that transactions aren’t categorized as debt beneath firms’ monetary statements and will subsequently masks an organization’s indebtedness. Corporations which have had to answer SEC letters asking for extra particulars on their applications embody Coca-Cola and Boeing, each of which informed the company their applications haven’t been materials.

In July, the Monetary Accounting Requirements Board, which units accounting guidelines in the US, permitted a set of disclosures that firms must make about their provide chain finance applications.

Different firms that use provide chain finance embody the buyer items firm Procter & Gamble, which stated in its annual report that it “typically gives the suppliers with extra favorable phrases” for discounting their invoices since they’re utilizing P&G’s creditworthiness. 

Provide chain finance is not largely a product for multinational companies. Bankers say elevated digitization of invoices and different paperwork has made the method extra environment friendly, serving to banks supply the product to extra middle-market companies relatively than giant companies.

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However the middle-market sector and sub-investment-grade companies stay an “underserved market” that comparatively few banks have been keen to serve, stated Joerg Obermueller, managing director of CIT Group’s provide chain finance enterprise. CIT is now a part of Raleigh, North Carolina-based First Residents BancShares after an acquisition this yr.

“I feel most of the gamers perceive that now. How they’re responding to that, I do not know,” Obermueller stated. “We’re actively concerned, and we like this market.”

Banks corresponding to Citigroup are additionally more and more centered on “deep tier” financing, which basically gives the identical sort of provide chain finance program to a provider’s suppliers — or in some instances, the following tier down.

Citi is working with the bill finance fintech Stenn to speed up its efforts in that area, which it says will assist small and midsize firms throughout the globe which have historically struggled to get reasonably priced credit score.

“In an elevated rate of interest surroundings all these companies are much more vital as suppliers want extra resilient sources of funding” since their prices will go up, Adoniro Cestari, Citi’s international head of working capital options & structured commerce, stated in an electronic mail.

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KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. to Announce Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

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KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. to Announce Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

NEW YORK, January 17, 2025–(BUSINESS WIRE)–KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (“KREF”) (NYSE: KREF) announced today that it plans to release its financial results for the fourth quarter 2024 on Monday, February 3, 2025, after the closing of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

A conference call to discuss KREF’s financial results will be held on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. ET. The conference call may be accessed by dialing (844) 784-1730 (U.S. callers) or +1 (412) 380-7410 (non-U.S. callers); a pass code is not required. Additionally, the conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet and may be accessed through the Investor Relations section of KREF’s website at http://www.kkrreit.com/investor-relations/events-and-presentations. A slide presentation containing supplemental information may also be accessed through this website in advance of the call.

A replay of the live broadcast will be available on KREF’s website or by dialing (877) 344-7529 (U.S. callers) or +1 (412) 317-0088 (non-U.S. callers), pass code 4697062, beginning approximately two hours after the broadcast.

About KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. is a real estate finance company that focuses primarily on originating and acquiring senior loans secured by commercial real estate properties. KREF is externally managed and advised by an affiliate of KKR & Co. Inc. For additional information about KREF, please visit its website at www.kkrreit.com.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250117176772/en/

Contacts

Investor Relations:
Jack Switala
(212) 763-9048
kref-ir@kkr.com

Media:
Miles Radcliffe-Trenner
Tel: (212) 750-8300
media@kkr.com

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Finance Director Bill Poole named to Presidential Leadership Scholars Program

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Finance Director Bill Poole named to Presidential Leadership Scholars Program

The Presidential Leadership Scholars Program announced that State Finance Director Bill Poole has been selected as a member of the Presidential Leadership Scholars Class of 2025. As one of 57 Scholars, Director Poole will join accomplished leaders in education, healthcare, public service, business, and other sectors to learn and hone leadership skills through interactions with former presidents, noted academics and industry leaders.

For the past decade, PLS has united a broad network of established public and private sector leaders to collaborate and create positive change in their communities and across the world. Chosen for their demonstrated leadership and support of projects aimed at addressing challenges and improving communities, Scholars will participate in a six-month program focused on core leadership skills, including: vision and communication, decision making, and strategic partnerships.

“It is an incredible honor to be named to the 2025 Class of Presidential Leadership Scholars,” said Director Poole. “I look forward to interacting with and learning from past presidents and industry leaders. I am excited to work alongside peers from across the country that are dedicated to promoting civic engagement and working on issues that will improve our communities.”

In addition to visiting four presidential centers, scholars will participate in a personal leadership project addressing local and global issues.

“I am proud to surround myself with a dedicated team of public servants to help propel Alabama forward, and I am certainly glad that includes Bill Poole. It is very exciting Bill has been selected for the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, and I know he will represent our state well,” said Governor Kay Ivey. “Congratulations to Bill as he continues taking steps to develop and best serve the people of Alabama.”

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Bill Poole was appointed Finance Director for the State of Alabama on August 1, 2021. As Alabama’s chief financial officer, Poole serves as an advisor to the governor and the legislature on all financial matters and is charged with promoting and protecting the fiscal interests of the State of Alabama. He also serves as chairman of Innovate Alabama, the state’s first public-private partnership tasked with promoting entrepreneurship, technology and innovation. Poole was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives for eleven years, where he served as chairman of the House Ways and Means Education appropriations committee for eight of those years.

To learn more about the Presidential Leadership Scholars program, visit “Presidential Leadership Scholars.”

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US consumer finance watchdog fines payments firm Block over Cash App operations

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US consumer finance watchdog fines payments firm Block over Cash App operations

Block said the issues raised by the regulator were “historical” and did not “reflect the Cash App experience today” [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Thursday ordered payments firm Block to pay a penalty citing fraud and weak security protocols on its mobile payment service Cash App.

The regulator said Block, which is led by tech entrepreneur Jack Dorsey, directed Cash App users who experienced fraud-related losses to contact their banks for transaction reversals.

However, when the banks approached Block regarding these claims, Block denied that any fraud had occurred.

Cash App is one of the largest peer-to-peer payment platforms in the U.S. and allows consumers to send and receive electronic money transfers, accept direct deposits and use a prepaid card to make purchases.

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“When things went wrong, Cash App flouted its responsibilities and even burdened local banks with problems that the company caused,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.

In response, Block said the issues raised by the regulator were “historical” and did not “reflect the Cash App experience today.”

“While we strongly disagree with the CFPB’s mischaracterizations, we made the decision to settle this matter in the interest of putting it behind us and focusing on what’s best for our customers and our business,” the company said.

The move is one of the final regulatory actions under the Biden administration as Washington awaits the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Billionaire Elon Musk, who is slated to co-head a new government agency to slash government spending, has called for the elimination of the CFPB.

The CFPB’s order includes up to $120 million in redress to consumers and a $55 million penalty to be paid into the CFPB’s victim relief fund.

The regulator also alleged that Block deployed a range of tactics to suppress Cash App users from seeking help in order to reduce its own costs.

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Block’s gross profit rose 19% to $2.25 billion in the third quarter ended Sept 30, with Cash App accounting for $1.31 billion of the total income.

On Wednesday, the company also agreed to pay $80 million to a group of 48 state financial regulators after the agencies determined the company had insufficient policies for policing Cash App.

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