“It could be a highly profitable activity for Blackstone,” said Anthony Carfang, a partner at Treasury Strategies Inc., a Chicago-based treasury consulting firm. “The investment management business is highly scalable.”
U.S. corporate cash increased to $1.79 trillion at the end of last year from $1 trillion in 2000, according to an April 4 report by Treasury Strategies. Corporate cash totaled 1.93 trillion euros ($2.53 trillion) in countries that use that currency as of Dec. 31, and the comparable U.K. figure stood at 730 billion pounds ($1.13 trillion). With the U.S. Federal Reserve keeping interest rates near record lows, treasurers are challenged to generate income from their excess cash.