Most 100 day plans cover pricing, procurement, working capital and management. Banking often sits outside them, handled by the portfolio CFO when time allows.
That is a missed opportunity. Banking cost is recurring, measurable and negotiable, and the change of ownership is the best moment to reset it.
Why should banking be part of the 100 day plan?
Banking touches three things a sponsor cares about early: control of cash, visibility of liquidity and recurring cost. All three can be fixed within the holding period, and the results show up in data.
Fees and FX margins usually sit above EBITDA. Commitment fees and interest income usually sit below it, so the model treats them separately.
The change of ownership also gives the company a reason to talk to every bank. KYC refreshes, new mandates and facility consents bring the banks to the table anyway.
What should happen in the first 30 days?
The first month is about control. Nothing else matters if the wrong people can still move money.
- Update bank mandates and signatory lists to reflect the new board and management.
- Confirm payment approval rules and limits in every banking portal.
- List every bank account, its purpose and its signatories, across all entities.
- Start KYC refreshes early, because banks will ask about the new ownership structure.
- Identify change of control terms in facilities, guarantees and cash pooling agreements.
This work is not glamorous, but it protects the deal. It also produces the account list that every later step needs.
Where the seller provided banking or treasury services under a transition agreement, the exit plan for those services also starts here.
What should happen in days 31 to 60?
The second month builds visibility and the cost baseline. Treasury needs a daily view of cash across banks, and the finance team needs to know what banking actually costs.
Collect twelve months of bank statements, fee schedules, FX trade records and facility terms. Code the fees by service, measure FX margins against mid-market and map idle balances by entity.
FX deserves particular care. Payment conversions and small spot trades often carry the widest margins, and they rarely show up in treasury reports.
Idle balances need the same attention. Cash sitting in subsidiaries can often fund the business before any facility is drawn.
By day 60, the company should know its total banking cost by bank and by line. That baseline becomes the starting point for every negotiation.
What should happen in days 61 to 100?
The third month turns the baseline into results. Requests go to each bank in writing, with the evidence behind them and a clear timeline.
Account rationalization starts in parallel. Accounts that serve no purpose are closed, and surplus cash moves into a structure that earns a return.
Agreed terms are checked on the next statements. Anything not delivered goes back to the bank before day 100.
Worked example: sizing the opportunity
The table uses illustrative numbers for a hypothetical portfolio company. Every figure is invented to show the arithmetic. None of it is a client result, a forecast or a market benchmark.
| Line | Illustrative before | Illustrative after | Illustrative annual effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank fees | USD 900,000 | USD 720,000 | Saving of USD 180,000 |
| FX margins on USD 80 million | 35 bp, USD 280,000 | 15 bp, USD 120,000 | Saving of USD 160,000 |
| Yield on USD 10 million surplus cash | 0.5%, USD 50,000 | 3.0%, USD 300,000 | Income of USD 250,000 |
| Commitment fee on USD 40 million undrawn | 0.40%, USD 160,000 | 0.30%, USD 120,000 | Saving of USD 40,000 |
| Total | USD 630,000 a year |
In this illustration, fees and FX make up USD 340,000 above EBITDA. The rest sits in finance costs and interest income, and the model should show it there.
What the bank sees
From the bank side, a sponsor-backed client looks different from a standalone company. The bank sees the fund behind it, and the chance of more business from other holdings.
Banks want to be on a sponsor's preferred panel. A portfolio company that negotiates with that in mind has more weight than its own size suggests.
Banks also run their own process after a deal. KYC teams will ask about the new ownership, and relationship managers will review pricing and credit appetite.
A company that arrives with a baseline and a clear request sets the agenda for that review. A company that waits receives the bank's agenda instead.
Banks also price the risk of losing the client. A company that is visibly reviewing its banks after a change of ownership is at its strongest negotiating moment.
What should the operating partner ask at day 100?
A short checklist shows whether the banking review is done or only started.
- Are mandates, signatories and payment approvals updated at every bank?
- Is there a daily cash position covering every account?
- Is the banking cost baseline documented by bank and by line?
- Have requests gone to each bank in writing, with evidence?
- Which agreed terms are already visible on statements?
- Which accounts have been closed, and which are next?
- Is the annual effect in the model, split above and below EBITDA?
What are the common mistakes in a banking review?
Most reviews that disappoint fail on sequence or follow-through, not on analysis. These are the patterns to avoid.
- Negotiating before the baseline exists, so requests rest on opinion rather than data.
- Chasing small fee lines while FX margins, the larger cost, go unmeasured.
- Closing accounts before payments and collections have been rerouted.
- Skipping verification, so agreed prices never reach the statements.
- Letting each subsidiary negotiate alone with the same global bank.
Each of these mistakes is avoidable with a written plan and a single owner. The plan matters more than the sophistication of the analysis.
How is the review repeated across a portfolio?
The method does not change between holdings. The same templates, data requests and benchmarks work for each company, and every new review starts faster than the last.
Where several holdings use the same banks, the sponsor can coordinate the conversations. Banks respond differently when they see the wider relationship.
Each review also adds data. Over time, the sponsor builds its own view of what good banking terms look like for companies of each size.
A common template also makes portfolio reporting easier. The operating team can compare banking cost across holdings on the same basis.
When should a sponsor bring in outside help?
Portfolio CFOs carry the 100 day plan on top of running the business. A banking review needs data work, bank-side knowledge and negotiation time that few of them can spare.
Independent private equity treasury advisory runs the review, sizes it for the model and repeats it across holdings. The FX part relies on measuring the spread against mid-market, and the fee part on reading the account analysis statement.
Banking will not make or break most investment cases. But it is one of the few levers that is recurring, measurable and fully in the owner's control.
This insight reflects general analysis and observations from FIRMA Advisory's work in treasury, banking, and cross-border financial advisory. It does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, or a recommendation in respect of any specific security, transaction, or financial decision. For analysis specific to your organization, contact us at [email protected].