Since the start of the financial crisis, there have been dramatic changes in corporate banking relationships. The link between credit and treasury services business is not new, however, it is much stronger than in previous years.

The AFP Exchange Magazine that landed in my mailbox today contains an article about cash management in 2009 and 2010, which is based on interviews with six corporate treasurers. Not surprisingly, the conversations with this group align completely with the research we did earlier this year - counterparty risk overshadows all other concerns, cash forecasting must be improved, banking relationships will change as rates rise and FDIC coverage changes, and the need for efficiency is greater than ever as expectations of treasurers and their staff increase. Looking forward to 2010, this group plans to rationalize banking relationships, continue to focus on safety and soundness, and invest in technology to improve efficiency.

The 2009 AFP Annual Conference was held in San Francisco this year from October 4-7, and was a more subdued affair than last year, as you might expect given the state of the economy.  There were fewer attendees (4,000, according to AFP), and fewer major announcements.  In fact, the major topic of discussion, as far as payments was concerned, was business-to-business (B2B) electronic payments, one of those opportunities that, like micropayments and mobile payments, seems like it should be huge but never seems to quite get off the ground.

For those of you who just can't get enough of our North American corporate treasurer's survey, here are some of the questions from our Webcast that we didn’t get to answer live. And, let me just say, "Wow!".

IDC Financial Insights tracks each bank closing. It seems that most Friday nights an announcement is made, and subsequently we update our database with the latest hit to the Deposit Insurance Fund. How many more hits are left? Will the FDIC have to impose yet another special assessment?