Observations from the Risk EMEA Summit

Published on June 14, 2016 by Damian Burleigh

I was invited to chair a track at the recently held Risk EMEA Summit (May 24-25) in London. Here are a few of my observations on the current regulatory framework and what banks need to do to stay ahead and be effective.

Regulators and banks fully understand the urgency around stress testing and have risen to the challenge. Cost of investment continues to rise as a major barrier. Hence, banks will now need to explore new, unique lower-cost models. Risks no longer have unlimited cheque books, and banks need to show “business value and return on investment as well” in their 2021 vision.

Many banks appear to under-invest, not only in systems but also in their “data process and architecture”. Investment in data, risk data foundations, and model simplification and documentation programs remains a major theme with “automation” – still difficult for most banks, with manual downstream adjustments still taking place.

The continuation of business structural silos between risk, treasury, finance, and business divisions continues to “aggravate” joined-up thinking. Structurally, these are difficult to solve, as so few see the joined-up capital versus economic capital planning picture.

In a world moving to BCBS 239 standards, this preparedness in data aggregation and industrialized processes remains an area where regulators expect more investment and the removal of antiquated processes. Some banks will need to consider if they have the software and the structural set-up to break down the silos, and IFRS 9 would complicate this even further.

This is where Acuity Knowledge Partners can provide both insight and assistance, working across the global regulatory landscape with experience across modeling, validation, risk software, regulatory documentation, and data benchmarks. Our experience in creating value and simplification across bank infrastructure, improving the silo process, risk appetite frameworks, and stress testing across retail, wholesale/structured credit and market risk landscapes make us a unique helping hand for banks still trying to solve these issues.

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