Bank lending has not yet recovered to pre-crisis levels—nor is it likely to in the Basel III environment. So companies are looking both to explore new sources of funding and reduce their funding needs by concentrating liquidity in-house.

Trade receivables are one corporate asset that can be used to achieve results on both counts and accordingly, companies are increasingly examining opportunities in this area. By improving collections procedures and introducing techniques such as differentiating among creditors according to their risk profile, companies can make significant improvements to their days sales outstanding (DSO). Meanwhile, a range of receivables financing techniques is available to companies looking to improve working capital by monetizing receivables.

Alongside more traditional receivables financing techniques like factoring and securitization, some recent innovations are beginning to reshape this area. Non-bank supply chain finance providers are starting to gain market share with platforms that offer greater flexibility than their bank counterparts. Like the bank programs, these non-bank providers enable corporations to offer supply chain finance to their suppliers.