The state of “omnicrisis”: corporate treasurers are increasingly seeing volatility as structural rather than exceptional

• Corporate treasurers facing persistent volatility are focusing on early preparation, execution certainty and balance sheet resilience.
• The survey results point to a low‑growth environment with corporates prioritising balance-sheet resilience over raising new debt to fund expansion.
• Debt diversification is a priority for some treasurers who are seeking to improve flexibility and access to liquidity.
• Treasury teams are deepening their strategic role to strengthen financial resilience in a complex macroeconomic environment.

Kristen Roberts, managing partner and head of the UK Corporate Debt Practice, comments: “Treasury teams have adapted to sustained volatility by embedding uncertainty into core decision‑making. Rather than viewing disruption as episodic, corporate treasurers now treat uncertainty as a baseline assumption in liquidity management, funding strategy and risk calibration.”

Published by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, in partnership with the Association of Corporate Treasurers, this year's Corporate Debt and Treasury Report explores how sustained geo-political volatility and macro-economic uncertainty has impacted debt strategies, expected expenditure and outlook for the year. It also examines the evolving role of the treasury.

Notwithstanding the current macro-economic and geo-political landscape, 72% of respondents (up from 41% last year) reported that their businesses would operate "business as usual but with some continued disruption" and 50% of respondents (up from 24% last year) thought there would be no or minor impact on their debt strategies. These results may be explained by consistent and prudent management by corporate treasurers who are already factoring in longer lead times for debt raising processes and have taken a longer-term view on debt requirements and maturity profiles.

One interviewee commented that the survey results illustrated a low‑growth environment, evidenced by lower numbers of respondents looking to increase debt funding for acquisitions, capex and working capital and greater numbers expecting to repay debt, pay dividends and effect share buybacks. Only 25% of respondents expect to increase spending on acquisitions in 2026, down from 38% in 2025, while anticipated increases in capex have fallen from 51% in 2025 to 35% in 2026. This suggests that corporates are prioritising balance-sheet resilience and deleveraging over expansion and growth.

Stacey Pang, who led the report, says: “Overall, the results suggest a muted appetite for growth and expansion which is not surprising given the current macro-economic and geo-political landscape. Corporate treasurers are instead seeking to repay debt and effect share buybacks, perhaps in response to the higher costs of debt and the lower expected levels of M&A activity and to build in balance sheet resilience.”

The respondents were asked whether debt diversification is a priority for 2026 - 45% of respondents said yes. The data showed that some corporates are selectively diversifying funding sources to improve flexibility and access to liquidity and, in some cases, seeking to cost arbitrage. Other corporates were not experiencing the same drivers for diversification and felt confident in their existing debt fund sources.

Treasury teams are key to liquidity, risk management and technology-enabled decision-making. Cash management remains fundamental but, as it becomes more deeply embedded, its measured prominence is shifting: 91% of corporate treasurers cited it as a top priority in 2025, compared with 71% in 2026. Attention is shifting towards derivatives, risk management, funding diversification and cyber resilience. AI holds promise for treasury teams but has yet to deliver in practice, with work still required on data quality, standardisation and output reliability.

Access the Corporate Debt and Treasury 2026 report here.