Treasury Management Network Newsletter

Advisor Update

Welcome to the May Treasury Management Network Newsletter

Firstly – I hope this finds you well and best wishes in these challenging times ahead and thank you for joining us at our events online over the last month.

As we move into further new territory we are seeing new events on an almost daily basis. The UK for the first time has sold negative yielding bonds – a sign many investor will see as a further move to an even lower BOE base rate and potentially a signal to negative interest base rate for the first time in the UK, a step the central bank has previously rejected.

As Covid-19 further impacts Local Authority finances the Local Government Association have assessed Local Authorities in England alone may require up to £10 billion in extra funding to finance the budget deficits created by this emergency. This figure is in addition to the extra £3.3 billion in funding allocated by Central Government. Councils have been sending estimates into MHCLG to capture the impact of the crisis on public services.

As we go ahead with these significant challenges at the Treasury Network we will continue to support you with new content on sustainability, the latest views on the economic situation and how to manage treasury risks in these unprecedented times. Our next event, free to all TMN subscribers, will be on sustainability in partnership with CCLA and will cover;

• Exploration of environmental, social and governance factors when considering possible investments
• Exploring views about ‘the next big’ thing for responsible investment
• Application and considerations for organisations
• Stewardship of assets and engagement
• And delve into the incredibly important issue of workplace mental health and other important topics

Best wishes,

Richard Lloyd-Bithell

CIPFA Pensions and Treasury Management Advisor