After developing and discussing innovative ideas for the further development of our service offering in the beautiful setting of the Engadine mountains last year, we gathered again in our familiar surroundings for this year's offsite to further refine our business strategies. During the first day of the three-day Finyon offsite, the focus was on improving our sales skills to bring last year's innovative concepts to our customers more effectively.

At a recent Women's Lunch organized by the Swiss Finance Institute Alumni Association (SFIAA), our Principal Anna Slavutskaya, PhD, FRM presented Finyon's innovative Bank Diagnostic Tool and also gave a demo.

We are very pleased to announce that FINYON is an official sponsor of the Swiss Risk Association (SRA), a non-profit organization and open forum for risk management that strengthens Switzerland's position as a financial center through events, discussions and knowledge transfer. As part of this partnership, FINYON will actively advise and support the newly created chapters "Analytical Methods" and "Liquidity Risk" as a "Chaptor Advisor". This collaboration will enable us to share our knowledge and experience in risk management with a wider audience.

The white paper examines the impact of a diversified funding mix on interest income. In particular, the unexpected increase in customer deposits at cantonal banks during the Credit Suisse "bank run" in the fourth quarter of 2022 serves as a basis. Instead of exercising prudence in a first step and allocating a portion of these newly acquired and potentially unstable inflows to high-quality liquid assets (HQLA), a large part of the deposits was used to refinance new loans. Constant pressure on profitability led to a reallocation of HQLA positions toward financial assets. Maintaining a diversified funding portfolio can not only mitigate the reduction in liquidity when deposits are withdrawn, but also help stabilize profitability and, in conjunction with a sound investment strategy, generate higher risk-adjusted returns.

Volker Bätz (Head Recovery and Resolution Planning, formerly of Credit Suisse, and now Co-Head Recovery and Resolution Planning of UBS Group) discussed and shared his valuable and personal experiences on the very current topic “too-big-to-fail” (TBTF) such as the recent developments around the Credit Suisse/UBS merger with Finyon employees during the latest roundtable event.

In the picturesque ambience of the Engadine mountains and at the edge of a light-flooded forest, Finyon employees met for this year's Finyon Days to help shape the future of the company. Each employee presented a business case for the further development of the service offering, which was then lively discussed to assess its feasibility and the company's fit.

In the era of information overload, it is becoming more challenging to get a concise overview of the business data. This paper guides the information user through the data chaos and helps organizing it into an appropriate visualization form (dashboard). The guide is accompanied by an illustrative example of a treasury liquidity management cockpit and is extendable to other use cases, which can be as broad as a strategic steering of a financial institution. As a consequence, an orderly visualization of business data shall allow the management to concentrate on the key business parameters and performance indicators to drive balanced and deliberate decisions and conduct post-decision analytics.

As a change from the daily consulting routine, Finyon launches quarterly cultural activities and starts this new chapter with a visit to the Zurich Kunsthaus. During a guided tour of the collection in the Chipperfield Bau, Finyon employees are immersed in the world of renowned artists from classical modernism, impressionism, US abstract expressionism, and contemporary art. One of the highlights is the "Turicum Pixelwald", an installation by Pipilotti Rist consisting of several thousand LED lights hanging from cable vines around the room. After a group photo in front of Monet's famous water lily pond, the culturally enriching event is rounded off with drinks at a nearby restaurant. The Finyon are already looking forward to the next cultural event.

In our daily consulting work, we always strive to deliver the best. While tailored and engaging presentations are our main tool, a confident demeanor towards the client is equally important. Perfecting exactly the latter was the main goal during the recent Finyon Days that took place in Lenzerheide. The Swiss School of Journalism MAZ, with its many years of experience in this field, moderated the workshop and gave us lots of tips to take with us - we can't wait to apply them as soon as possible. The culinary aspect was also not neglected during the time out in Lenzerheide; be it while enjoying exquisite dishes, as well as while preparing a wild herb pesto from ingredients we picked ourselves.

During a roundtable event on the topic of "Female Leadership", Serena Fioravanti (Chief Risk Officer of Credit Suisse's Swiss Division) shares her valuable professional experiences with Finyon employees from the perspective of a female leader.

In all our areas of expertise, we strive to continuously develop our service offering and deepen our knowledge to stay on top of the latest developments. We do this by working with industry experts and regularly attending workshops. The focus of our most recent off-site was on the areas of data analytics and visualisation, in particular an overview and comparison of the latest analytics tools as well as visualisation techniques, their advantages and disadvantages, and the related challenges facing the financial industry.

In cooperation with STUDIO BLYSS, we have redesigned our website. On the one hand, our range of services is presented more transparently, on the other hand, the more modern appearance better reflects the characteristics of our dynamic team.

FINMA publishes a risk monitor for the third time at the end of 2021. The risk monitor provides an overview of what FINMA currently considers to be the most significant risks for supervised entities with a time horizon of up to three years. The main risks continue to include: a persistently low interest rate environment, a possible correction in the real estate and mortgage markets, defaults or corrections in corporate loans and bonds abroad.

The introduction of the principles-based accounting standard IFRS 17 is considered as one of the biggest changes in the insurance industry since IFRS 4. The standard establishes basic principles for the initial recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosures of direct (re)insurance, passive (re)insurance and investment contracts with discretionary participation features.

Chocolate lovers in the FINYON team discover the delicacies of Max Chocolatier and are thrilled. We want to pass on this enthusiasm to our customers. FINYON is now working with Max Chocolatier for customer gifts. An SME that has one thing in common with FINYON - a passion for its trade. Our loyal customers look forward to customised creations in limited editions that underline the mutual appreciation.

The employees are to be increasingly involved in the orientation and further development of FINYON and their talents are to be brought out more. On the occasion of a multi-day off-site, the entire FINYON team works under moderation of mrrc on the future image, the strategy and the fields of activity of the company and develops the ambitious vision: Financial services companies do not say "we need management consultants", they say "we need FINYON".

After 5 years of joint development, Peter Vollenweider takes over the company shares from Sebastian Bodemer, who is leaving FINYON, on 1 April 2020. Peter is now the sole owner of the company. Thanks to the great and valuable commitment during the first few years of business, FINYON is on a solid basis for future development. FINYON will continue to strive to provide excellent advisory services to banks and insurance companies.

Sport as a balance to work also applies to FINYON employees. And this hobby is also pursued together. A FINYON team takes part in the Zurich Marathon team run. Everyone is delighted with the result!

Net interest income is the most important source of income for many banks. In 2018, a review of the previous interest rate risk strategy and the methods applied is necessary in order to meet the new requirements as of 1 January 2019. In addition, it is advisable to update interest rate risk management from a business perspective as well, given the low or negative interest rate environment. This white paper deals with the essential aspects that bank management should take into account when dealing with interest rate risks.

How should treasury be oriented in the future given the magic triangle of pressure to succeed, market environment and banking regulation? Should it be managed as a profit or cost centre? How can an integrated overall bank management succeed? The authors provide detailed answers and show how treasury and risk controlling should be structured, how risk models should be developed, implemented and validated. But they also show which strategic banking aspects have to be taken into account when aligning risk management.