Banking Review: Spring 2009

PricewaterhouseCoopers' Banking Review shares a Canadian perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the banking and capital markets sector. This second edition features industry issues related to the economic downturn. For instance, learn about:

• Managing risk in the face of volatility
• Driving performance and value through strategic vendor management
• Taxing issues in strategic sourcing decisions
• Valuation control in turbulent times

Managing risk in the face of volatility
Business owners today face an unprecedented culmination of difficulties. Depressed commodity prices, unpredictable foreign exchange markets, limited access to credit and softening global demand across all industries, has made business forecasting a difficult and even more subjective task. If owners lack clarity on where their businesses are going, how are lenders to manage their exposure?

Managing risk in the face of volatility (44 KB) Download the full PDF article.

Driving performance and value through strategic vendor management
As companies face increasing pressure to reduce costs and improve productivity and efficiency, many want to maximize the value of existing third-party vendor relationships and outsource new activities and processes. As a result, large organizations often have hundreds of vendor relationships to manage. Increasingly, these relationships draw scrutiny from regulators, boards of directors and internal/external auditors. With mounting dependence on vendors, it can be challenging for organizations to effectively monitor and manage these relationships.

Driving performance and value through strategic vendor management (61 KB) Download the full PDF article.

Taxing issues in strategic sourcing decisions
Today's economic environment is forcing companies to assess their core competencies and identify more efficient operating modes. This analysis encompasses strategic sourcing options such as relocation and consolidation to use shared services, in-sourcing, outsourcing and co-sourcing. The precise tax implications of each option should be a key part of the cost/benefit analysis, because in some cases the tax impact is very significant. In some instances, the decision process advances before the full tax impact is understood and measured.

Taxing issues in strategic sourcing decisions (105 KB) Download the full PDF article.

Valuation control in turbulent times
The credit crisis and its impact on the economy have introduced significant volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets. Under these circumstances, it is apparent that the valuation control processes at certain financial institutions are facing substantial challenges, as illustrated by some high-profile public admissions about mismarking of trading positions in the past year. With the continuing illiquidity in certain markets, this phenomenon is likely to continue and will create significant challenges for the reporting season in respect of attributing the appropriate valuations to illiquid financial instruments in the financial statements.

Valuation control in turbulent times (60 KB) Download the full PDF article.

Banking Review: Spring 2009 (223 KB) Download the entire PDF.