Curbing controls

Bank of China's Hong Kong subsidiary had so many controls in place that even its risk management team believed a more effective system was required. Kathleen Kearney speaks with its chief risk officer, Alex Cheung Yau Shing

Alex Cheung is one of a rare breed - a chief risk officer who has cut the number of controls in place at his institution. When he joined Bank of China Hong Kong (BOCHK), Cheung found himself supporting front-line staff calls for more flexibility and innovation. "Initially, I thought I would probably need to strengthen control measures, but I have found that we have too many controls in place," he says. "The business people have all sorts of complaints, and I found that their complaints were