Independent Treasury Advisers Ltd

I help CROs and CFOs at challenger banks, building societies, asset managers, and brokerage firms mitigate Treasury, Prudential, and Operational risk and enable the optimisation of capital & liquidity, with benefits of > £5 mil, through risk management frameworks, governance and controls, and enhanced analytics.

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Call us now on (+44) 07725 445859 to action a plan that will mitigate your risks and concerns.

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Recent Engagements

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(1) Interim Head of Enterprise Risk – ‘LMAX Exchange Ltd and LMAX Broker Ltd’ (June 2022 - Oct 2022)

Delivery of an enterprise-wide risk management framework and the production of the Firm’s first ICARA document in line with IFPR / MIFIDPRU requirements.

• Developed the Enterprise Risk Management Framework - approved by the Board.

• Produced ICARAs for LMAX Exchange and LMAX Broker, including production and delivery of the material harms analysis, stress and reverse stress testing, recovery plans, and wind-down plan – Board approved

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(2) Treasury SME Consultancy - ‘STC Pay / STC Bank’ (Dec 2021 – Mar 2022):

Greenfield project - Supported digital wallet provider ‘STC Pay’ to become the first digital bank in Saudi Arabia. Responsible and accountable for the implementation of the treasury, treasury risk, and treasury operations functions / capabilities - on time and within budget.

• Scope of responsibilities included project and stakeholder management, governance and controls - committee structures, ToR, risk metrics / risk appetite statement, delegated authorities, extensive suite of integrated policies, procedures, risk dashboards / reports, stress tests, cash flow and liquidity models, ALCO MI packs, job descriptions, resource plans, TMS and ALM systems requirements, etc.

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(3) Treasury SME Consultancy - ‘Saudi National Development Fund’ (Feb 2021 – Jul 2022):

Supported the Saudi National Development Fund to achieve liquidity and capital optimisation benefits and cost savings of >$50 mil through the centralisation of the treasury, investment, and risk management function of 11 development funds / banks to a newly created centralized legal entity.

• Partnered with PwC Middle Eastern as project deliver lead. Responsible and accountable for the design, build, and implementation of the interim and end state Target Operating Model and the associated risk management and operational frameworks. Scope of responsibilities included vision and strategy, committee structures, ToR, risk metrics / risk appetite statement, delegated authorities, policy suite, procedures, risk dashboards / reports, stress tests, cash flow and liquidity models, ALCO MI packs, job descriptions, resource plans, systems requirements, etc)

Results:

• Benefits include freeing up >$150 mil of liquidity that’s being redeployed to higher yielding investments, access to debt capital markets, generation of >$20 mil p.a. in revenue achieved the optimisation of liquidity (cash pooling, enhanced cash flow forecasting, and a new FTP framework), increased diversification and returns on investment portfolio, plus direct and indirect cost savings of > $10mil p.a.

 

(4) Head of Treasury Risk - National Bank of Kuwait International plc (Jan 2019 – Nov 2020):

I helped the CRO reduce risk (regulatory, prudential, operational, and market) by in excess of £5 mil through the establishment of a best practice Treasury Risk function. Accountable for identifying, quantifying, and remediating all risks related to the treasury function related risks with a priority focus on bridging gaps that would lead to regulatory sanctions and remediation costs through a S.166

• Executed a function-wide ‘Big 4’ internal audit style review to identify and document all regulatory and good practice gaps (including controls and effectiveness testing) and produced a road map and detailed implementation plan to bridge these gaps and enable best practice

• Documented the future state 'Target Operating Model' which aligned the objectives of the treasury and treasury risk functions to the Bank's vision and strategy (endorsed by ALCO)

• Developed and implemented a comprehensive governance and controls framework based on best practice, including policy development, procedures, processes, committee ToRs, ALCO MI Packs, etc.

• Implemented new risk metrics, EWIs, KPIs, and MI which was presented in a new consolidated Daily Dashboard – replacing 5 separate reports. New MI included, IRRBB EVE stress tests, stressed LCR, intraday liquidity position, change in retail deposits, and encumbered collateral

• Developed and implemented a new FTP framework (approach and methodology) to meet regulatory requirements and to deliver the organisational benefits inherent in an effective FTP framework

• Collaborated with the Risk Governance function with the development and production of the ILAAP and ICAAP and the developing internal capabilities to ensure compliance with these documents / regulations

Results:

• Identified 77 new risks or best practice gaps, 44 of which were added to NBKIs Risk Register. 40 of the registered risks were remediated within the agreed timelines, the remaining 4 being ‘open and on target’

• Reduced direct financial losses and potential remediation costs from audit / SREP by >£5 mil (estimate)

• Successful behavioral modelling of non-maturing deposits and prepayment risk on consumer loans; outputs fed into IRRBB, ALM, FTP, PRA110, and regulatory LCR calculations

• Post  L-SREP the PRA reduced the liquidity scalar applied through the Bank’s ILG by more than 75% and  the pillar 2A capital add on fell by £40 million (nominal methodology)

• 12 manual processes were automated which equated to the saving of ~0.80 FTE (& enhanced controls)

• Implementation of the new FTP framework / methodology has removed the large, pre-existing cross subsidies and is driving the right behaviours and outcomes

 

(5) Senior Manager – Treasury Advisory (Financial Services) - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Jul 2015 – Jan 2019)

I helped CEOs, CFOs, CROs, and Treasurers of financial service firms mitigate the remediation costs and financial losses associated with regulatory, prudential, operational, and market risks across treasury functions by in excess of £5million, through enhanced governance and controls, best practice risk management frameworks, and enhanced management information.

• Designed, built, and implemented a new, scalable, treasury and treasury risk function for GE Money Bank, CZ. End-to-end delivery from vision & strategy, TOM, policies, procedures, MI / reporting, systems, and job descriptions, and training plans on time and within budget

• Performed 30+ treasury related internal audit / assurance review; presenting the severity of the findings / implications, recommendations and remediation plans to CEOs, CROs, CFOs, Treasurers, and Boards

• Developed the knowledge and capabilities of the team through introducing Lunch and Learn sessions and one-on-one mentoring

Results:

• Identified and remediated risks, poor practices, and potential S.166 remediation costs by an average of ~£5 mil per engagement (lower bound figure of ~£500 K and an upper bound figure of ~£25 mil)

• Multiple positive client attestations