Orange Blog
In view of growing global demand for food and increasing pressure to decarbonize, the question of how sustainable practices can be established along the entire value chain is moving into focus.
Sustainability in the food sector: between aspiration and reality
Financial institutions are already using them, but reverse stress tests could also become more important for treasurers. That's because they can save money.
An early warning system for the worst-case scenario
2025 is a year of economic nuances. While the German economy is slowly emerging from the shadow of previous years, the Bundesbank's latest Bank Lending Survey shows that banks are once again willing to lend – but not without a safety net.
Credit climate 2025: Between departure and hedging
The European Commission's new proposal for an "omnibus" regulation on ESG reporting obligations is intended to revise and consolidate three regulatory beacons. What does this mean for CFOs and treasurers?
New EU ‘Omnibus’-regulation - simplification of ESG reporting directives does not mean deregulation
In mid-June, ECB President Christine Lagarde spoke of a “global euro moment”. In light of the threat of US tariffs, this was a rather optimistic statement. Yet, it fits the spirit of the times: Trump’s erratic economic policy and concerns about the rule of law are damaging the US economy and opening new, unexpected opportunities for Europe. At least, that is the narrative of Lagarde and many Europeans. But is Europe really taking advantage of this moment?
Strong Euro - a curse or a blessing?
An exciting first half of the year is behind us. US President Trump not only kept the world in suspense but also made the German economy “great again” in a short time. However, the negative effects of US trade policy have recently begun to show.
Good mood alone doesn't create an economic miracle
Greater efficiency, increased transparency, and reduced risks: Digitalisation in trade finance promises much, but also presents significant challenges.
Digitalisation in Trade Finance
Donald Trump has been in office for some three weeks now and the era of unpredictability has begun. Anyone who thought that Donald Trump would only bark but not bite has been proven wrong. In his second term in office, Donald Trump seems to be better prepared and more determined to deliver on his election promises than during the first term.
Between headlines and headaches - what does Trump 2.0 mean for the bigger macro picture?
Sustainable financing instruments are here to stay. ING's Head of Wholesale Banking Germany Eddy Henning describes how banks can support companies in the sustainable transformation.
Dealing with ESG risks is improving credit ratings
The topic of fiber optics is polarizing. On the one hand, everyone is looking for a fast and more stable internet connection – especially since home office has become a part of everyday work life for many people. On the other hand, the expansion of fiber network frequently turns to a test of patience for customers, as many people must wait for several months for their connection. What is the cause of this and how can the process of digital infrastructure expansion be accelerated?
Fiber Optic Expansion: The Holy Grail for a Digital Infrastructure?
2024
From bulk payments to payee confirmation, the EU's Instant Payments Regulations offer new opportunities for treasurers, even beyond real-time transfers.
Bulks & VOP: New opportunities for cash?
The advancing digitalisation requires more and more computing power. For example, in the past decade, more and more companies worldwide have migrated their computing and communication infrastructure to cloud service providers. The boom in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the introduction of generative AI models are significantly driving up the demand for server computing capacities. Microsoft, for instance, opens a new data centre every three days.
Data centres: the big energy consumers
Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) are considered an important means of reducing aviation emissions in the medium run. Despite bold 2030 goals, blending quotas remain low. European airlines are global leaders in SAF use but need to accelerate further to meet the EU's ambitious targets.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels - a means for more sustainable flying?
Major investments in real estate, infrastructure, vehicles, or equipment are usually funded on a loan or lease basis. The financing itself is provided by manufacturer-related or non-manufacturer banks as well as leasing companies. But there is also a huge need for capital to invest in the transition to a sustainable economy and society, which can only be met if banks or leasing companies offer appropriate financing instruments.
Securitisation - a financing instrument for transformation
A guest article by Credit Risk Manager at ING Germany Finn Pauckstadt: ESG risks are becoming increasingly important. But what do banks take into consideration in the lending process?
The way banks look at ESG risk
"Life in plastic, it's fantastic", as Barbie already knew. And indeed, hardly any other raw material is as omnipresent in our everyday lives as plastic. Whether packaging, children's toys or medical devices - plastic is a lightweight yet robust and comparatively inexpensive material that we simply cannot imagine life without. Around 2/3 of the amount produced is short-lived plastic, which quickly turns into waste.
Less plastic waste - but how?
Steel production is known to cause high CO2 emissions. A lot of process and energy-related emissions are generated during this production - around 28 percent of total German industrial emissions are attributable to the sector.[1] What approaches has the industry developed to reduce this proportion? What role does green steel play and how can the financial sector support the transition to sustainable production methods?
Rethinking steel
More than half of Germany's energy requirements are used for heating or industrial purposes. Around 85 percent of this heat has so far been generated using fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. This is set to change. In addition to familiar forms of renewable energy generation such as wind power, solar energy and biomass, geothermal energy is increasingly coming into focus.
Geothermal energy in Geretsried - sustainable heat supply powered by ING
The federal, state and local authorities provide an essential part of public services for millions of citizens. Whether infrastructure, hospitals or energy supply - the areas that are financed by the public sector are diverse and vital. However, public budgets have recently also come under pressure due to rising interest rates and high investment requirements. The demands on banks as reliable financing partners are also becoming more complex as a result.
(Green) financing for the public sector
The European transport system connects people, goods and markets across the continent. However, as demand has grown over recent years, so has the sector's carbon footprint.
Land Transport sets the course for the future
Real-time cash flow movements and a prompt overview of liquidity and FX assets: using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) provides entities with improved liquidity management, process control and risk control capabilities. By providing real-time data, the treasury is increasingly becoming a driving force for management. Previously, data required had to be retrieved from various, often non-integrated, systems at the reporting date. APIs can help this situation in the future.
APIs: The Treasury becomes a strategic management partner
Fraudsters use a fake bank guarantee to create the illusion that safety is in place. This will persuade you to make the deal thinking the risk is covered. How can companies avoid the scam?
Bank guarantee fraud and how to avoid them
Know-your-customer (KYC) audits are of great importance in the cooperation between companies and their bank. The regulatory requirements contribute to a secure financial sector. It is therefore no wonder that so much attention is paid to the KYC processs.
Digital onboarding - a different kind of KYC
Conventional export financing is undergoing change. The sustainable transformation of the economy and society is also becoming visible in this sector. The decarbonization of the energy industry is one of the biggest challenges of this century, as it is responsible for around 38% of CO2 emissions worldwide.
Export financing in transition
The upheaval in the automotive industry is obvious and is affecting more and more companies. The challenges are enormous: the switch to electric cars alone requires massive investment in research and development and requires a transformation of the entire value chain - in addition to the development of a new infrastructure, for example in the form of charging stations.
Climate targets in the financing of the automotive industry - a new report
2023
At the beginning of November, the EU Commission recommended the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine. This brings the country's political system and economic situation into focus. And this is proving to be surprisingly stable, which is due not least to the work of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Stable payment transactions in Ukraine
When it comes to advisory services, it is no longer just the Big Four and boutique consultancies that are competing. Banks are also increasingly offering advice on the structuring of debt financing. But what is the added value and how do the services differ?
Debt advisory as a banking service
In recent years, the topic of mental health has increasingly become the focus of companies and employees. And rightly so: Current studies show that more and more people are struggling with mental stress in their jobs and everyday lives. What can companies do about it? And how can employees manage their own resources better?
Managing your own resources better
These are challenging times for companies: Alongside the ongoing risk of recession, far-reaching structural changes are afoot. The increasing geopolitical tensions worldwide and the growing rivalry with China in particular are prompting global supply chains to be restructured. And above everything else, there is the impact of climate change and the energy transition.
New role for the Treasury in the transport and logistics sector
Digitising documents makes it easier to manage guarantees efficiently, while ensuring legal certainty. The advantages of centralized guarantee management are manifold.
Fewer risks due to digital guarantee management
Very few sectors were as directly and as profoundly impacted by the global Corona pandemic than the aviation sector. The impact was not limited to airlines only, airports, travel agencies, aircraft leasing companies, tour operators and many other players in the wide eco-system of the aviation sector suffered as well. But fortunately, we are now witnessing an unprecedented recovery as travel restrictions were lifted and demand for air travel did not fade.
How the aviation sector is returning to its former strength
The automotive industry is in a state of upheaval: climate change and digitalization are leading to a fundamental shift in the requirements for and provision of mobility.
Climate change and digitalization - the revolution in the automotive industry
No other technology is currently changing so many areas of life as artificial intelligence (AI). AI applications such as music streaming, smart home devices or voice assistants on cell phones are already an integral part of our everyday lives. But AI is not stopping at banking either: in addition to some challenges, it holds the opportunity to make banking even easier and more intuitive for (corporate) customers.
How artificial intelligence is influencing the banking of the future
There are many reasons for companies to become more sustainable. But regardless of whether it is a question of transforming energy supply, reducing pollutant emissions, or responsibly designing production processes - in the end, a sustainable approach must always be economically feasible. To offer companies an additional incentive, banks like ING have developed a broad toolbox of sustainable financing solutions in recent years.
Sustainable Syndicated Loans: Need for Expertise
Ships are going green. The EU Commission recently approved a new set of EU Taxonomy (“EUT”) rules to expand the eligibility of the ships in scope.
Sailing towards a sustainable future – the Shipping sector
Instant payments have been technically possible in the European Union since the EU SEPA Instant Payments (SCT Inst) standard was introduced in 2017.
Instant payments: Eastern Europe leading the way
The Transport and Logistics sector is a sector with demonstrated resilience and an ability to adapt to change.
When challenges and opportunities meet: The transport and logistics sector
With its Terra approach, ING has set itself the goal of making companies from industries with high CO2 emissions in their loan book climate-neutral by 2050.
How sustainability is finding its way into the cement industry
Companies and banks are facing high societal expectations to prioritise the protection of biodiversity. Their interests are complementary. They should therefore jointly explore ways and means of driving the transformation forward.
Biodiversity: Why it should also be the driving force in funding
With “virtual credit cards” corporates can streamline payment processes. For this reason, they are likely to become a fixed part of the payment process very soon.
Payment transactions straightforward
2022
ESG, sustainability, transformation, net zero, climate risks and many others are buzzwords that you just can't get past now – the need for change is widely recognized. The real estate industry also is obliged to make its contribution here.
ING real estate finance supports green transition
The war in Ukraine and its economic implications are a larger gamechanger for the German economy than Covid had ever been. In short, the basic pillars of the economy and success factors over the last decades have not only become weak spots but vulnerabilities which will have to undergo significant changes in the coming years. The times of cheap energy imports and a booming export sector, which benefits from globalization, are over.
The challenges of the energy transition
CO2 storage is on the verge of a worldwide breakthrough. Promising industrial-scale projects are also getting underway in Europe.
The underestimated climate saver
Global supply chains have seen disruption, shortages, and delays already for a couple of years. First, former US president Donald Trump's trade war with China changed the established rules of global trade. Then came the disruptions to production and shipping due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, causing shortages and consequently inflation around the world. And finally came the war in Ukraine which will lead to structural changes to trade as we knew it.
Trade and supply chains: rough waters ahead – how can banks support their customers?
Natural gas plays a pivotal role in both solving the ongoing energy crisis in Europe as well as in reaching Germany’s ambitious climate targets. As Russian pipelines no longer supply gas, Germany must swiftly build its own Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals. Meanwhile, two promising new technologies are becoming increasingly important for the Energy Transition in Germany: green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Out of the dependencies
Regional crises are increasingly becoming a challenge. For example, potential risks are emerging in business with China, and treasury has a key role to play in analysing them.
Out of the dependencies
Sustainable transactions have become an integral part of the capital market. A particularly successful project in the recent past saw Vonovia issue two social bonds and one green bond. These bonds demonstrate that Germany's largest real estate company is resolutely committed to sustainability, including when it comes to financing. Vonovia continues to lead the way in terms of social responsibility and sustainability in the sector.
ING supports Vonovia in issuing social and green bonds
The paper of Convention on Biological Diversity was officially adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) on the 22nd May 1992. Later, the 22nd of May was established as International Biodiversity Day to raise awareness of the issue. Thirty years later, the issue of biodiversity receives increasing attention in the public debate.
Why biodiversity is increasingly in focus
The market for green financing has been booming for several years now. This also applies to specialized products, such as sustainable Schuldschein. But what makes these instruments so special? And what are the advantages for corporate customers?
ING & Green Schuldschein
The LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) was, and still is one of the most important benchmark interest rates on the global financial markets. It states the rate for which banks with outstanding credit ratings can lend money to each other on an unsecured basis.
Benchmark interest rates and the impact on insurers
Banks are playing a key role for organizations in transition - Offering long-term added value and going beyond their role as a simple finance provider
Moving into the position of an advisory partner
Liquidity management of international companies is complex. Branches and subsidiaries often have different liquidity requirements, which may vary over time. A wide range of currencies creates additional challenges. In order to make optimum use of available liquidity and to keep funding costs low, the Treasury should be able to obtain a comprehensive picture of the company-wide liquidity situation as soon as possible.
Multi-Currency Notional Pooling simplifies global liquidity management
The introduction of application programming interfaces (APIs) as part of the PSD2 payment services directive was a game changer in the relationship between banks and fintechs on the one hand and the company treasury on the other.
Open banking in the treasury
During the Corona pandemic, even though travelling was not possible or only possible to a limited extent, transportation of goods largely continued. Rail remains an important and eco-friendly means of goods transportation. Thierry S. de la Brélie, CFO of Touax Group, tells us in an interview how the sector has changed during the pandemic, what is being done to improve the environmental balance even further and what role sustainable financing plays for companies like Touax.
Sustainable business during the Covid-19 pandemic
Concepts such as slow fashion, second-hand shops, recycling, renting or leasing fashion items are just a few examples that prove that sustainability is entering the fashion and textile industry. This trend is also confirmed by the ING Circular Economy Report. But where do consumers really stand on the subject of sustainable fashion, and what does this trend mean for the textile industry?
Sustainable business during the Covid-19 pandemic
The issue of sustainability remains an important one, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many companies are still struggling with the negative effects of the crisis, but are also looking at how they can become more resilient in the future. What approaches and tools are available to help make the economy greener?
Sustainable business during the Covid-19 pandemic
Sustainability has become a key success factor in recent years. The issue is integral to many different fields within the industry and is becoming increasingly important for finance departments. Real estate company DIC Asset has been working for around 10 years to put itself in a sustainable position for the future.
Sustainability success factor: DIC Asset's sustainability journey
In view of growing global demand for food and increasing pressure to decarbonize, the question of how sustainable practices can be established along the entire value chain is moving into focus.