“Can you afford not to hedge?”
At Treasury 360° Nordic 2026, the question “to hedge or not to hedge” was reframed from a technical discussion into a strategic one. Bringing together both corporates and banks, the panel with moderator Simon Hesse Hoffmann featuring Kasper Christensen (senior director, Global Treasury at Pandora), Christian Henriksen (head of Global Treasury & Insurance at Ambu), Børge Rogstad (head of Risk Advisory , Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities at DNB) and Johan Wessman (head of Global Markets Corporate Sales Nordics at BNP Paribas) made one thing clear from the outset: there is no single right answer.
“For us, it is not black and white,” Henriksen said, pointing to the importance of understanding both business model and risk appetite. For Ambu, a combination of natural hedges and long-term perspective supports a more limited use of financial hedging, even if that means accepting short-term volatility.
Others took a more cautious stance. “Can you afford not to hedge?” Wessman asked, reframing the debate around downside risk rather than cost. Rogstad went further, warning that “not hedging could often be speculative,” highlighting that choosing not to act is itself an active risk decision.
Aligning, not eliminating
Yet, the discussion repeatedly returned to purpose. Hedging is not about removing risk entirely. “It is more about aligning risk with your business model, rather than trying to eliminate risk,” Wessman said. Christensen built on that point, emphasising the real value of hedging: “true, but you’re going to buy time.” In volatile markets, that time can be the difference between reacting strategically or being forced into decisions under pressure.
What also emerged clearly is that hedging is far more than execution. “There is a lot more than the execution. The execution is the easy part,” Christensen noted, referring to the extensive work around exposure analysis, accounting and internal alignment. Even defining exposure can be complex, particularly in changing market conditions.
Rather than relying on forecasts, the panel encouraged a more robust approach. “Monitor the risk, make analysis, make scenarios,” Henriksen said, reflecting a shift towards scenario planning over prediction.
Perfect storm
Consistency also matters. “Ride through the cycles, otherwise there is no point,” Wessman said, cautioning against changing policies based on short-term market moves. As Rogstad added, adjustments should be driven by changes in exposure, not by market volatility alone.
In the end, the panel converged on a shared perspective: hedging is a strategic choice about resilience. As Christensen summarised, it is less about managing day-to-day fluctuations and more about preparing for extremes, “to protect the company from a perfect storm.”
• News from Treasury 360° Nordic 2026, at Gothia Towers in Gothenburg on 23 April, is gathered here.
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