Appendix 4: High-level risk registers

Patrick McConnell

This appendix summarises (some of) the key operational risks arising out of the emergence of digital money in the financial system, and the increased emphasis by legislators and regulators on operational resilience. Financial institutions are replete with operational risks at all levels of the organisation – from the board to the lowest-level operations staff – and as a result firms have developed risk registers at the corporate- and business-line levels to help to manage these risks. Most often, these risks are recorded in some form of risk register, whereby each risk is identified and then analysed, assigned an owner and treated or mitigated as required. Note some lower-level risks may be formally accepted without further analysis.

In these sections, lower-level business-line risks are not identified as they are specific to each business line, but higher-level and general risks are identified. However, note that the list is not comprehensive as much of the new functionality described here, such as use of CBDCs, has not yet been implemented, and new and different risks will undoubtedly emerge as they are implemented (if they ever are implemented).

The risk registers expanded on here