This article is based on an interview with Tina Stinson, SVP, head of treasury management at Northwest Bank.
Tina Stinson joined Northwest Bank as the head of treasury management in 2020, bringing more than 20 years of banking experience. As an accomplished and results-driven leader, Tina oversees Northwest's treasury strategy, solutions, and team, ensuring the bank continues to offer a competitive suite of solutions and superior service that enables business and commercial clients to effectively and securely manage their cash flow.
Recent Trends in the Treasury Management Space
Businesses, organizations, and companies of all sizes continue to look for ways to automate key treasury functions, including ways to streamline their accounts receivable and accounts payable process, as well as look for ways to forecast and leverage technology. With technology becoming a key priority for liquidity, the more digitalized processes become, the bigger role technology plays within treasury. The use of payment hubs within treasury management is also increasing, enabling the most efficient method to send payments, as well as automate, manage, and centralize domestic and international payments. They can also connect banks, enterprise resource planning (ERPs), and financial systems to process outgoing payments, providing better insight and control.
Major Challenges That Treasury Management Professionals Face
The fast-paced push towards digital transformation and innovation can cause some disruptive forces and challenges for treasury leaders who need to keep up with the constant evolution of the payments landscape. Fraud and security continue to be a key focus for treasury management teams to avoid phishing scams, compromised business emails, and system takeovers. Aside from the more technological and digital risks in treasury, attracting and retaining treasury management talent continues to be a challenge in today’s competitive environment.
‘With technology becoming a key priority for liquidity, the more digitalized processes become, the bigger role technology plays within treasury.’
Lastly, maximizing excess liquidity in today’s rate environment has surfaced as a priority for 2023 as a result and in response to the ongoing Fed interest rate hikes.
Recent Technological Advancements to Improve Efficiency, Decision-Making, and Risk Management
Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a role in improving efficiencies for business customers and the financial services industry for years to come. While we are in the early stages of this transformation, I believe we will see greater efficiencies in the near future, but that will require a full understanding of current processes and how the benefits of AI might be incorporated.
Experiences That Empowered You to Gain Deep Expertise in Cash Flow Management, Short-Term Investments, and Liquidity, and Information and Credit Management
I have spent the past 25+ years in banking, with the last 20 in treasury management. Spending a large portion of my career at a large regional bank has afforded me the opportunity to learn and grow professionally within the field. This experience has provided me with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead Northwest Bank’s treasury solutions, which in turn provide better services and experiences to our existing and future clients.
Advice for Other Senior Leaders and CXOs Working in the Treasury Management Space
At Northwest Bank, our customers are at the center of everything we do. We take the time to learn about their business, understand their challenges, and where they want to go in the future. Then, we create a positive experience by surrounding them with people, solutions, and technology to establish efficiencies today and tailor a plan to help them achieve what's next.
