Maintaining sustained collaboration for a modernised treasury at Shamal

Best in Class Treasury Solution in EMEA

Highly Commended Winner

Shamal

Photo of Sleiman El Homsi, Shamal and Praney Maggu, HSBC.

Sleiman El Homsi

Treasurer

United Arab Emirates, Dubai

Shamal is a diversified investment firm that shapes exceptional opportunities through a distinctive portfolio of investments, experiences and assets, spanning real estate development, luxury hospitality, lifestyle, retail and other strategic investments. Every venture pursued reflects Dubai’s bold ambition, dynamic spirit and relentless energy.

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The challenge

Shamal’s business operations spanned five territories in North America, Europe and the Middle East, with cash and banking activities historically managed at the local level. As operations expanded internationally, opportunities emerged to further enhance liquidity management through greater centralisation and standardisation.

Variations in banking structures, connectivity arrangements and local regulatory considerations limited treasury’s ability to achieve a fully consolidated view of cash positions and forecasts across all markets. As a result, liquidity was maintained across multiple accounts and jurisdictions, reducing the ability to optimise cash deployment and investment opportunities on a group-wide basis.

Recognising these opportunities, the treasury team sought to strengthen global cash visibility, enhance liquidity management and establish a more integrated treasury framework aligned with international best practices, enabling more effective allocation of capital and improved oversight across international operations.

The solution

A new treasury entity was established in UAE as an in‑house bank (IHB), operating in the capacity of an agent and liquidity coordinator.

This was supported by a local transfer pricing file detailing:

Involved parties participating in the IHB structure.
Operating framework, including physical cash concentration using a range balance mechanism, currency sub pools, FX transactions and term deposits.
Economic rationale, centred on optimising group liquidity, reducing idle balances and leveraging the IHB’s banking relationships to offer participants market linked returns and more competitive deposit pricing and FX rates.
Functional and risk analysis, outlining the roles and risk exposures of both the IHB and participating entities.
Pricing and remuneration, based on pass through of external bank rates for pooled funds, FX and term deposits, supplemented by a coordination service fee to reflect group treasury’s time and effort.

“The standard of submissions this year was exceptionally high, with a record-breaking number of nominations, making this recognition all the more meaningful. This achievement speaks to our treasury team’s determination and tenacity, as we strive for excellence to build a world-class treasury function in close partnership with our relationship banks and business stakeholders.

We are fortunate to operate within a growth-driven, high-performance culture that empowers us to continually raise the bar. We are grateful for the continued sponsorship and support from leadership, as well as for Treasury Today’s recognition and honour.”

Sleiman El Homsi, Treasurer

Best practice and innovation

The solution is supported by three interconnected pillars of innovation:

Centralised, tax-efficient liquidity architecture: the newly established IHB model introduced an OECD-compliant, automated liquidity framework comprising physical cash concentration, multiple currency sub-pools, standardised FX execution and coordinated investments. This eliminated idle balances, enforced group-wide liquidity discipline, and enabled tax-efficient cash centralisation – with withholding tax implications rigorously assessed at every upstream step.
Rationalised banking landscape: a structured cash management RFP streamlined banking relationships, driving measurable improvements in service quality and securing yield bearing account structures that actively generate returns on surplus liquidity.
TMS-enabled governance and control: full TMS enablement – integrated with online banking platforms and SWIFT – established a single source of truth for treasury operations. This strengthened governance, maximised returns through disciplined surplus cash investments and delivered significant gains in process efficiency and control.

Key benefits

Cost savings.
Process efficiencies.
Return on investment (ROI).
Risk mitigation.
Number of banking partners/bank accounts reduced.
Future-proof solution.
Improved visibility.
Increased automation.
Increased system connectivity.
Manual intervention reduced.
Reduction in errors.

The solution has fully delivered on its founding objectives to establish a professional, dedicated treasury function that included an IHB covering cash pooling, payment factory and virtual accounts, while generating strategic value well beyond the original scope.

The framework of the proposed solution was not built in isolation, and it required sustained collaboration between treasury professionals, tax advisors, banking partners, technology specialists and senior leadership – across multiple geographies and time zones. The teams involved navigated complex regulatory environments, legacy system constraints and setting up of a formal treasury structure with a shared purpose.

For many on the ground, this project represented a fundamental shift in how treasury was perceived – from a back office function to a strategic business partner at the heart of financial decision-making.

Praney Maggu

Senior Sales Manager, Corporates, Global Payments Solutions, HSBC

Partnering with Shamal on this award-winning treasury programme has been a real privilege for HSBC. Working closely with Shamal’s treasury leadership, we helped rationalise banking structures across its international footprint, enable efficient liquidity concentration and support the move towards a scalable in-house bank model. Through improved account structures, interest-bearing solutions and streamlined connectivity via HSBCnet and SWIFT, Shamal gained stronger visibility, control and automation. We’re grateful for the trust placed in HSBC and value the collaboration that made this success possible.

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The Adam Smith Awards are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. The 2026 awards attracted 635 nominations. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards

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