CashPoolingVereinbarungen

Cash pooling, or Cash-Pooling-Verfahren, is a treasury technique used by corporate groups to optimize liquidity by concentrating cash from several subsidiaries into a central pool. The arrangement allows surplus cash to offset deficits within the group, reducing external borrowing costs and improving liquidity visibility and management.

There are two main forms of cash pooling: physical (or zero-balance) pooling and notional (virtual) pooling. In physical pooling, funds are swept from subsidiary accounts to a master pool account on a regular basis, resulting in actual transfers of cash. In notional pooling, balances remain in their local accounts, but interest and overdraft calculations are performed on a consolidated, notional basis, with no mandatory fund transfers.

How it works varies by structure. In physical pooling, each subsidiary maintains a target balance; at the end of the day, excess funds are moved to the pool, while deficits can be covered by funds from the pool. The master account is typically held at a banking partner and may involve multiple currencies. In notional pooling, the contractual agreement aggregates balances for interest determination, while funds stay in place.

Benefits of cash pooling include reduced external financing needs, improved cash visibility across the group, simplified cash management, and potential gains in interest income. Risks and considerations include intercompany pricing and taxation implications, regulatory constraints in certain jurisdictions, and the need for strong IT systems and bank connectivity to support accurate accounting and reporting.

Key implementation steps involve defining scope, selecting banking arrangements, drafting intercompany agreements, aligning with accounting and tax policies, integrating with ERP systems, and establishing governance and controls for day-to-day operations and reporting.