The European pension fund crisis could be partly resolved by persuading companies to manage their working capital better and release funds. One estimate is that European companies have about E600bn trapped in inefficient cash flow management. Release it and they can top up their ailing pension funds and a lot more besides – new acquisitions, new growth, things that could bring moribund European economies back to life.

But first the working capital problem must be fixed. ABN Amro is so

enthusiastic about the possibilities that it has a working capital

division, bringing together skill sets, such as trade finance,

liquidity management, financial markets, asset and cash management.

“Liquidity is extremely tight, so unlocking it has become very

important and may make it possible to raise cash internally rather than

externally,” says Ann Cairns, managing director, working capital, at

ABN Amro.

Shrewd investment bankers could clearly get their hands on a slice of

this capital before it ends up in the pension funds. Do we hear an

M&A deal coming on? We used to, all the time, even when they were

best left undone.

And how far could corporate treasurers be persuaded to drive their

working capital up the yield curve? It’s worth thinking about.

Brian Caplen

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