This handbook is a comprehensive update of our 2006 report providing current information on issues affecting the nations and the Central European region as a whole. In this handbook we look at the individual countries and the region as a whole, considering the banking and payments landscape and the cash management options open to corporates.

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Introduction

This handbook is a comprehensive update of our 2006 report providing current information on issues affecting the nations and the Central European region as a whole.

The developing nature of Central Europe and the expanding economies of its individual nations are having a profound effect on Europe. Since becoming members of the European Union, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia have been impacted by developments in legislation and the introduction of new directives. In this handbook we look at the individual countries and the region as a whole, considering the banking and payments landscape and the cash management options open to corporates.

Adoption of the euro

The adoption of the euro remains a pressing issue in the region. Since our last handbook, Slovenia has adopted the single currency, while Slovakia has announced a date for its replacement of the koruna. For the remaining nations, however, adoption of the euro remains a distant objective. The implications of this are beginning to be magnified with the launch of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), one of Europe’s most significant developments in relation to cross-border payments.

Opportunities and obstacles

Throughout this handbook we will be analysing the opportunities for effective cash management and the obstacles that companies may face. While improvements have been made on a number of levels, Central European countries continue to face numerous challenges in their efforts to ensure complete integration with their western peers. We will outline the possibilities for managing cash in the region, look at the diverse range of payment and clearing systems, analyse the potential management structures that can be implemented and highlight the conditions for establishing a regional treasury centre.

We will also take the opportunity to focus on the cash pool offerings in the region, concluding with the local issues that should be considered from a legal and tax perspective in each country.

For more information on the topics covered throughout this handbook, readers may be interested in Treasury Today’s Best Practice handbook, European Cash Management, in which we take a broader look at cash management issues in Europe.