TOMATO CATCH-UP - Newsletter Issue 287 - June 2026

Your monthly resource on working capital, process optimization, and issues related to the world of corporate treasurers, IT professionals, and bankers!

This newsletter is bilingual, English or German, depending on the source.

Introduction

How do you tackle misinformation and fake news? Besides consuming information from reputable sources, are you also using independent news aggregators? Ground News, for example, makes it easy to examine how the same story is reported by different sources. It aims to combat media bias and echo chambers by displaying ownership information, source reliability, and left-right political slant for thousands of sources in real time. Have you tried it before?

This edition includes topics such as Treasury Policy, Bonds for Corporates, Treasury Survey, Credit Suisse, Population Growth in Europe, Workforce Survey, AI Act Compliance, CAPTCHA, and more.

Remember that for any challenge related to your financial issues, you can ask Martin Schneider for a discussion that will clarify it. Contact Martin via email or call +41 44 814 2001.

Contents

  1. Next BBL – Tomato Brown Bag Lunch
  2. Are Treasury Policies Optional?
  3. Bonds Up to 100m for Smaller Corporates
  4. 2025 Global Treasury Survey by PwC: Key Findings
  5. Schweizer Banken Nach der Credit Suisse - Raum für Wettbewerb
  6. Wachstumsregionen in Europa – Wohin es Menschen zieht
  7. PwC's 2025 major employee sentiment report: Findings for Switzerland
  8. EU Council and Parliament agree to Simplify and Streamline AI-Rules
  9. Book Tip – Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead
  10. Termine & Events
  11. From the Desk of Tomato

 

1. Next BBL – Tomato Brown Bag Lunch

Am 24. Juni von 12-13.30 Uhr treffen sich Treasurer und Finanzfachleute der Region Zürich Nord Aargau. Gastgerber ist Frank MARTIN des Liebherr Konzern in Nussbaumen bei Baden. Es hat noch Plätze frei, möchten Sie teilnehmen? Telefonisch 044 814 2001 oder Email bei Martin Schneider.

Im Herbst 2026 treffen wir uns in Winterthur am 5. Oktober 12-13.30 Uhr der Firma Autoneum statt. Wir freuen uns auf deine Anmeldung. Das BBL Datum ist in den Zürcher Herbst-Schulferien. Für diejenigen die den Tag passend finden, freuen sich Martin Schneider und Janko Hahn auf dich. Telefon 044 814 2001 oder Email bei Martin Schneider.

Details: https://www.tomato.ch/brown_bag_lunch.html

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2. Are Treasury Policies Optional?

Treasury policies are crucial but not mandatory, as we frequently reiterate (most recently in Tomato March News). If the rules are presented succinctly and clearly, they provide Treasurers and CFOs with security and guardrails in the form of explicit dos and don'ts, along with definitions of the range of actions. Financial professionals make up the related internal community, which is frequently on the outskirts of the corporate world and does not speak English as their first language.

More information can be found in an essay by Francois Masquelier, our colleague in Luxembourg.

https://treasurymap.com/publication/article/288

To the following Checklist: Comment from Tomato Martin Schneider, often we also describe the payment terms for accounts payables and accounts receivables groupwide and add details to cash pooling into the Treasury Guidelines.

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3. Bonds Up to 100m for Smaller Corporates

Years ago, we at Tomato came across Helvetische Bank as an alternative debt and funding provider. In recent years, Tomato and Helvetische Bank joined forces for projects on several occasions. Helvetische Bank is known as the market leader in smaller CHF bonds. They structure and place bonds and convertible bonds for Swiss and foreign companies. The bank usually grants issuers a firm underwriting and thus guarantees the issue proceeds even before they are placed with investors.

Details in English at Helvetische Bank

Vor einigen Jahren lernten wir bei Tomato die Helvetische Bank an Messen kennen und schätzen. Dies als Alternative für die Fremd- und Eigenkapitalbeschaffung. Tomato und die Helvetische Bank haben in den letzten Jahren mehrfach bei Projekten zusammengearbeitet. Die Helvetische Bank gilt als Marktführer bei kleineren CHF-Anleihen. Die Bank strukturiert und platziert Anleihen und Wandelanleihen für Schweizer und ausländische Unternehmen. Die Bank gewährt den Emittenten in der Regel eine feste Zeichnungsgarantie und sichert so den Emissionserlös bereits vor der Platzierung bei den Anlegern ab.

Details in Deutsch bei Helvetische Bank

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4. 2025 Global Treasury Survey by PwC: Key Findings

With insights from 350 treasurers worldwide, the 2025 Global Treasury Survey shows how treasurers are adjusting to an increasingly complicated environment defined by economic instability, inflation and interest rate uncertainty, regulatory changes, and a rise in international trade conflicts.

Key findings:

  • ~40% of respondents are not leveraging an in-house banking or payment centralization model.
  • 36% of respondents have a manual FX exposure management process.
  • 74% are either expanding or actively using AI with a specific focus on machine learning and predictive analysis.
  • 65% of organizations are planning to expand API use in the next few years.

Read all the findings on the PwC website

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5. Schweizer Banken Nach der Credit Suisse - Raum für Wettbewerb

Ein Bericht aus der Volkswirtschaft und der Studie von BAK Economics Basel. Nach der Übernahme der Credit Suisse durch die UBS ist Raum für Wettbewerb. Wer für welche Produkte könnte einen Credit Suisse Platz einnehmen?

Als Nachteile bei der neuen grossen UBS werden genannt in der Studie:

  • der Bereich Konsortialfinanzierungen hat sich verändert
  • höhere Preise bei substanziellen Firmenkrediten
  • Kantonalbanken sind zwar im Firmenkredit- und Konsortialgeschäft nahezu flächendeckend aktiv, treten aber laut Experten seltener in der Rolle des Leaders und Hauptrisikoträgers auf
  • Kantonalbanken selber nennen strategische Überlegungen als wichtigen Grund für ihre Zurückhaltung (siehe Abbildung folgend)
  • Auslandbanken begründen ihre die Zurückhaltung zu einem möglichen breiteren Leistungsangebot vorrangig mit internen strategischen Prioritäten und der starken Marktstellung etablierter Anbieter.

Details bei Volkswirtschaft

Do you prefer English?

According to a recent report, there is room for competition following UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse. Some disadvantages associated with the large UBS are cited:

  • Deteriorations in syndicated financing.
  • Higher prices for substantial corporate loans.

Although cantonal banks are active across corporate lending and syndicated business, they seem less likely to act as lead arrangers and primary risk-takers. They cite strategic considerations as the main reason for their reluctance. Foreign banks attribute their reluctance to internal strategic priorities and established providers.

The text of the Link above is in German

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6. Wachstumsregionen in Europa – Wohin es Menschen zieht

Es ist kein Zufall, wohin wir Wurzeln schlagen. Es ist die Sehnsucht nach Orten, die unsere Seele berühren. Da sind die Küsten, wo der weite Horizont uns Luft zum Atmen schenkt oder ab auch mit der zunehmenden Digitalisierung zieht es weiterhin Millionen Menschen in die Metropolen.

Recherchiert aus Eurostat. Gemäss dem Bericht lebten am 1. Januar 2024 ~450 Millionen Menschen in der EU, was einem Anstieg von 0,4 % entspricht gegen über dem Vorjahr.

Die bevölkerungsreichsten EU-Länder mit 66% der EU-Bevölkerung Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Spanien, Polen. Die kleinsten Länder sind Malta, Luxemburg, Zypern.

Zuwachs verzeichnen Südschweden und Dänemark, die Nordsee Region mit England. Der atlantische Bogen von Irland mit Gallien bis an die spanische Grenze, der westliche Mittelmeerbogen von Südfrankreich bis Südspanien und dann auch die Westalpen von Savoyen bis Tirol bis nach Wien

Gleiten Sie mittels Mausover über die Regionen der Zeitung «Schweizer Tagesanzeiger» In der Graphik sind blaue Regionen wachsend, rote Regionen schrumpfend.

Do you prefer English?

It’s no coincidence where we set roots. It’s the longing for places that touch our souls. There are the coastlines where the vast horizon gives room to breathe; yet even with increasing digitalization, millions of people continue to be drawn to the big cities.

Data source from Eurostat. According to the report, ~450 million people lived in the EU on January 1, 2024, representing a 0.4% increase to 2023.

The most populous EU countries, accounting for 66% of the EU population, are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland. The smallest are Malta, Luxembourg, and Cyprus.

Growth is being recorded in southern Sweden and parts of Denmark, the North Sea region, including England, the Atlantic arc, stretching from Ireland through Gaul to the Spanish border, the western Mediterranean arc from southern France to southern Spain, and the Western Alps, from Savoy through Tyrol to Vienna.

Hover your mouse over the regions of the Swiss newspaper “Tagesanzeiger”

Details Statistics in several European languages at Eurostat-Website

In the graph, blue regions are growing, red regions are shrinking found at “Tages-Anzeiger”.

Images source Eurostat

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7. PwC's 2025 major employee sentiment report: Findings for Switzerland

The 2025 report by PwC reveals what the Swiss workforce is thinking. There seem to be distinct differences between AI users and non-users, between career stages, and between employees' daily experiences and leadership viewpoints. The Swiss results show where there is still stability and where uncertainty is starting to affect trust, motivation, and engagement.

Key findings:

  • 57% of Swiss employees used AI at work in the past year.
  • 15% used generative AI daily at work in the past year.
  • 9% used AI agents daily at work in the past year.
  • 66% feel very or extremely secure in their jobs over the next 12 months.
  • 42% say they manage to make ends meet but are unable to save money for future travel or other expenses.
  • 48% do not fully trust top management.
  • 40% do not fully trust their direct manager.
  • 54% of Swiss CEOs are most concerned about not being able to keep up with the pace of technological change.

Further insights, in the graphs below:

Discover the full insights on the PwC website

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8. EU Council and Parliament agree to Simplify and Streamline AI-Rules

EU negotiators reached an agreement on a proposal to streamline certain rules regarding AI. The proposal forms part of the 'Omnibus VII' legislative package in the EU’s simplification agenda.

The Commission proposed further targeted amendments to the AI Act that would: extend certain regulatory exemptions granted to SMEs also to small mid-caps (SMCs), reduce requirements in some cases, extend the possibility to process sensitive personal data for bias detection and mitigation, reinforce the AI Office’s powers, and reduce governance fragmentation. The provisional agreement has a new timeline: 2. December 2027, for stand-alone high-risk AI systems and 2. August 2028, for high-risk AI systems embedded in products.

The provisional agreement reinstates the obligation for providers to register AI systems in the EU database for high-risk systems. It also reinstates the standard for the processing of special categories of personal data for the purpose of ensuring bias detection and correction.

Read the full press release at Consilium (Council of the EU)

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9. Book Tip – Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead

American economist Kenneth Rogoff examines the US dollar's global rise and explains why its future stability is far from certain.

The book makes the case that without a certain measure of luck, America's currency might not have reached its current dominant position. Kenneth Rogoff illustrates the dollar's incredible postwar run – how it defeated the Japanese yen, the Soviet ruble, and the euro – as well as the difficulties it currently faces from cryptocurrency and the Chinese yuan, the end of consistently low inflation and interest rates, political unpredictability, and the disintegration of the dollar bloc. He does this by drawing in part on his personal experiences, including those with policymakers and world leaders.

In addition to the fact that many nations are extremely dissatisfied with the current system, Americans cannot assume that the Pax Dollar era will continue indefinitely. In his view, arrogance and overconfidence can result in unintentional mistakes. Rogoff demonstrates how America's excessive privilege and power can lead to financial instability both domestically and internationally.

Link to the book on Amazon.  

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10. Termine & Events

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11. From the Desk of Tomato 

Kennen Sie die Geschichte der CAPTCHAs? Wenn Sie viel Zeit im Internet verbringen, haben Sie bisher auch unzählige Male Autos, Zebrastreifen oder Ampeln auf Bildern identifiziert und angeklickt. Diese Tests sind unter dem Akronym reCAPTCHA bekannt.

History:

2003: Forscher von Carnegie Mellon prägen den Begriff „CAPTCHA“ in einer wissenschaftlichen Arbeit, die ihre Vision für den Einsatz von CAPTCHAs zur Blockierung von Bots und zur Förderung der KI-Forschung darlegt.

2007: Die Forscher von Carnegie Mellon bringen reCAPTCHA auf den Markt, ein Unternehmen, das schnell zur wichtigsten Quelle für Tests, die die Menschlichkeit beweisen, im Internet wird.

2009: Google erwirbt reCAPTCHA und verwendet es, um das Google Books-Archiv zu digitalisieren.

2014: Google führt No-CAPTCHA ein, das ohne Test zwischen Mensch und Bot unterscheidet. Benutzer klicken einfach auf ein Kästchen mit der Aufschrift „Ich bin kein Roboter“.

2017: Google führt ein „unsichtbares“ CAPTCHA ein, das das Verhalten von Webnutzern verfolgt, um festzustellen, ob es sich um Menschen handelt oder nicht.

2020: CloudFlare, ein Unternehmen, das Sicherheitsdienste für viele Websites anbietet, stellt die Verwendung von reCAPTCHA aus Datenschutzgründen ein.

2021: Google teilt mit, dass es keine CAPTCHA-Daten mehr verwendet, um seine Algorithmen zu trainieren, und löscht alle Erwähnungen von KI von der reCAPTCHA-Startseite.

Quelle in Deutsch bei Austrian Site CASC

Do you prefer English?

Do you know the history of CAPTCHAs? If you spend a lot of time online, you’ve probably identified and clicked on cars or traffic lights in images countless times. In 2003, researchers at Carnegie Mellon coined the term “CAPTCHA”, outlining their vision for using it to block bots and advance AI research. In 2007, Carnegie Mellon researchers launched reCAPTCHA, a company that became the primary source of human verification tests on the internet, and which was aquired by Google in 2009. In 2014, Google introduced No-CAPTCHA, which distinguishes between humans and bots without a test. In 2017, Google introduced an “invisible” CAPTCHA that tracks web users’ behavior to determine whether they are human or not. In 2021, Google gave up using CAPTCHA.

ENJOY from the TOMATO Atelier

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