Operational risk
WHAT IS THIS? Operational risks are those arising from people, processes and systems – the biggest form of exposure for many industries, but one that was neglected by financial firms until the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995. It was added to the Basel capital framework in 2004, but attempts to model operational risk were dealt a heavy blow by the huge, unforeseen losses suffered by banks in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Rumbles in the ratings jungle
Things are astir in the ratings jungle. Moody's published a paper earlier this year detailing a specific approach to assessing operational risk. Fitch will shortly be devoting a separate section of its rating reports to op risk. And Standard & Poor's,…
Reuters enters the op risk software market
NEW YORK - Reuters is the newest player in the op risk software field. The global information technology company is preparing to launch an as-yet-unnamed op risk software solution in the next two months, says Julian Fisher, head of operational risk at…
Op risk still at an early stage, says FSA
Operational risk remains at an early stage of development compared with other areas of risk management, a review by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK regulator, has found.
Hong Kong to adopt loose approach to Basel II
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the financial regulator for the special administrative region of China, will not be mandating that certain types of banks adopt certain portions of the revised Basel Accords, according to a speech by Simon Toping,…
US regulators issue their advance notice of proposed rulemaking
US regulators published the much-awaited advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) late on Friday afternoon, after a meeting of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.
Running a smooth operation
Technology
Firms rise to the op risk data management challenge
NEW YORK - Like all risk management problems, operational risk relies on a sufficient supply of good quality data if analysis is to be meaningful and decision-making effective.
CP3 Comment: Why be standardised?
It seems such a short time ago that we were building a new capital Accord, which would incentivise banks to improve their risk management and encourage them to move along the spectrum of the new Accord's three stages. How rapidly things can change.
Operational risk: a practitioner's view
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ("the Committee") released aconsultative document that included a regulatory capital charge for operationalrisk. Since the release of the document, the complexity of the concept of "operationalrisk" has led to…
Framework developed for German banks
BONN, GERMANY - Many of Germany's banks have been somewhat slow to prepare their operational risk management framework for the new international bank capital accord, Basel II, and the prospective European Union (EU) Capital Adequacy Directive (Cad).
Exceptional operational risks: Three myths debunked
Are there common features among exceptional operational risks beyond their defining characteristics of rarity and severe consequences?
Advancing op risk management using Japanese banking experience
Junji Hiwatashi and Hiroshi Ashida of the Bank of Japan outline a practical framework for operational risk management, derived from research and experiences in Japan's financial community.
CLS settles a trillion a day
NEW YORK — Continuous Linked Settlement, the new settlement service for foreign exchange, settled a record $1 trillion in FX payments on February 18.
Basel Committee Releases New Operational Risk Sound Practices Paper
The Risk Management Group of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision today released the final 'Sound Practices for the Management and Supervision of Operational Risk'.
Self-assessments for scorecards
In this second and final paper on the scorecard approach to operational risk, Dresdner Bank's Ulrich Anders and Michael Sanstedt discuss the logistics of preparing and implementing the self-assessment questionnaire, before discussing the advantages and…
Profile: Dresdner makes loss prevention a new priority
Operational risk management is a management programme, not just a modelling exercise, according to Jonathan Howitt, director of operational risk at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in London.
Lepus lists op risk leaders
US firm OpRisk Analytics, Canada-based Algorithmics, and UK company Raft International are leading the operational risk vendor market, according to a report published in January by management consultancy Lepus.
Fitch upgrades OpVar tool for operational risk
Fitch Ratings has added a range of new services to its OpVar software suite, an operational risk management quantification tool. Version 5.0, scheduled for release in March, now offers an enhanced data collection module and improved data management…
An operational risk scorecard approach
Operational risk scorecards have been in the spotlight since the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s 2001 paper on op risk treatment under Basel II. In the first of two articles, Ulrich Anders and Michael Sandstedt of Dresdner Bank examine what,…
Op Risk systems: A moving target
Collecting and storing appropriate operational risk data remains a problem for technology managers and operational risk managers alike. Is any progress being made?
ORX database expected early next year
LONDON - The operational risk loss database run by the Operational Riskdata eXchange Association (ORX), a consortium formed by 12 international banks to pool their op risk data confidentially, is expected to begin operating around the start of February,…
Banks not effectively applying risk tools, says report
Many banks are not effectively applying risk tools when pricing and structuring deals, according to research and consultancy company PA Consulting.
Landesbanken's operational risk management tool
Many German banks lag behind their peers when it comes to operational risk management. The proposed new international bank capital accord, Basel II, which - for the first time - stipulates a separate capital charge for operational risk, has put the topic…