EP115: From cost centre to strategic force

Post-2008 regulations, evolving markets, and new technologies have fundamentally reshaped treasury functions. Heightened focus on liquidity, capital, and risk driven by Basel norms has made liquidity costlier and elevated the treasurer’s role from cash management to a strategic driver of balance-sheet growth, risk control, and regulatory compliance.Treasury processes now emphasise integrated platforms that enable real-time risk assessment, automated reconciliation, straight-through processing, and advanced ALM, with many banks running ALM as a profit centre.People capabilities have evolved accordingly: treasury is no longer a cost center but a central, strategic function working across business lines and geographies, often operating from centralized hubs to optimize costs and collateral.Technology underpins this shift, replacing fragmented legacy systems with data-driven, automated treasury platforms. AI, analytics, RPA, blockchain, APIs, and cloud are increasingly used for forecasting, settlement, compliance, and efficiency. Ultimately, treasury’s success lies in delivering value by optimizing liquidity, managing risk, and strengthening profitability.