Investment banks collaborate in first Oribo op risk forum

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LONDON – Twenty-two top London investment banks have held the first Operational Risk in Investment Banking Operations (Oribo) forum to co-operate on operational risk and compliance issues.

The Oribo initiative is chaired by software and management consultancy providers Business Control Solutions (BCS), and its efforts are endorsed by the Institute of Operational Risk (IOR).

“With the credit crunch and the potential streamlining and improved productivity requirements that all the banks have, they are going to focus even more on operational risk. If you optimise operational risk with the minimum controls in place, that also improves productivity,” said Jennifer Moodie, head of operational risk at BCS, who chaired the forum.

“The Oribo forum was created as a result of conversations with former counterparts,” added Moodie, who joined BCS last summer from Goldman Sachs, where she headed the global risk analysis and reporting division, which is now the operations risk division.

Topics discussed included data management and reporting, and the need to create standards for methodologies to respond to the challenge of principles-based regulation. The Oribo forum also coincided with the release of BCS’ new methodology for operational risk control.

Plans for the next Oribo forum – to be held on January 18 – include improvements in the quality of settlement instructions and standards for posting operations losses to error accounts. The first talks also discussed inviting the UK Financial Services Authority to participate in specific discussions relating to standards for principles-based regulation.

"There is a continual need to raise the awareness of risk management within the financial services sector, particularly during times of financial instability,” said Philip Martin, chairman of the IOR, which is actively involved in the forum. “The efforts of the Oribo forum are to be applauded as it seeks to develop best practice industry standards."