Risk

The threat of new ransomware models was the top concern facing executives in the third quarter of 2021, according to Gartner's Emerging Risks Monitor Report. Concerns about ransomware topped pandemic-related concerns, including supply chain disruptions, according to the survey of 294 senior executives across industry and geography. “The negative impact of evolving ransomware attacks is seen as so severe by...

The Fed, OCC and FDIC took an unprecedented step this summer in proposing a joint third-party risk management and information security framework that could apply broadly across the financial industry. In 2013, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) provided guidance to national banks for assessing and managing risks associated with third-party relationships. Shortly thereafter, the Federal Reserve...

The SEC is exploring new possible mandates around workforce disclosures. That may prove a tall order for businesses in the short term. But with increasing data tying alpha to employee well-being, leaders would do well to preempt these requirements.

Navex Global VP Karen Alonardo has worked in the ESG space for decades. She has a simple message for companies just beginning to report: Start small and focus on what matters. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is finally in the spotlight with the recent increase in investor interest. According to the 2020 biennial “Report on U.S. Sustainable and Impact Investing...

Financial institutions can leverage machine learning to make an array of functions faster, more accurate and more efficient. But deployment is just the first step. In the end, machine learning governance makes or breaks the efficacy of any system. In today’s banking and financial services world, we are rebuilding many finance, risk, actuary, forecasting and macroeconomic models using Python, R...

CDD and KYC have been baked into AML compliance for two decades now, yet enforcement of money-laundering violations continues to accelerate. How is it that penalties from a highly regulated environment are not able to serve as a bulwark against the corporate (and human) appetite for profit? Know Your Customer … But to Thine Own Self Be True Almost every...

Thomson Reuters has released its 2021 Report on the Cost of Compliance, finding that radical change may well emerge from post-pandemic reviews of and by financial regulators. With some financial services firms changing strategic direction, the report highlights a need to support wider cultural, operational and staffing requirements through future investment and resources. While the pandemic presented many challenges, it...

Recent events put market controls imposed following the Great Recession to the test. While turbulence from COVID-19 was brought under control, other happenings have thrown their efficacy into question.

Financial institutions and their directors have to navigate a rapidly changing world marked by new and emerging risks driven by cyber exposures based on the sector’s reliance on technology, a growing burden of compliance, and the turbulence of COVID-19, according to a new report, "Financial Services Risk Trends: An Insurer’s Perspective," from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). At the same...

Imagine if there were an annual award show for risk. Of course, due to the pandemic, the award show would have to be virtual – but if there were such a show, the pinnacle award would be for the Most Disastrous Risk of the Year. Hands down, the award for 2020 would go to location risk. In case you aren’t...

As the global economy remains in flux, most risk management strategies remain backward-looking. Risk needs to adopt strategic resilience strategies if it is to stay abreast of the inevitable changes to come. Winston Churchill’s observation, “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results,” takes on fresh meaning when nearly seven of 10 directors believe they need to...

In-house counsel and compliance both assess risk. As such, they often vie with one another. A collaboration, however, can serve to raise both up and significantly enhance a company's risk assessment overall. Lawyers get a bad rap – not just as the subject of lawyer jokes.  (This is not an invitation to recite lawyer jokes).  I recently wrote about the...