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.
Bankers – shape up or ship out, says UBS compliance head
Tough approach comes as ECB prepares new guidance on conduct risk for 2024 release

Op risk data: WhatsApp fines keep on coming
Also: ‘Five families’ stock-lending cartel pays up; double hit for Wells Fargo. Data by ORX News

The Fed’s stress test models are inaccurate. Something has to change
First step for US regulator to improve its bank loss forecasts would be to open up its models to public scrutiny, argue two banking industry advocates

Vendors under new scrutiny in CFTC due diligence push
Planned cyber resilience regime will force dealers to subject “critical” tech vendors to stricter audit
Does it matter if Tom Hayes is acquitted?
It matters to him, but changes to UK rules are meant to avoid an exact repeat of the Libor case
UBS leapfrogs global peers following Credit Suisse takeover
Swiss lender reports big increases in RWAs, leverage exposures and other key metrics
How operational risk managers won a battle and lost a war
Applying op risk capital to US regional banks is positive, but the SMA may not be fit for purpose
On-chain FX’s brave new world excites some, worries others
Trading tokenised versions of currencies on blockchain could slash settlement risk but sceptics raise concerns over liquidity and pricing
Operational risk and regulatory capital: do public and private banks differ?
The authors investigate relationships between operational risk and regulatory capital in Indian public and private banks.
A text analysis of operational risk loss descriptions
The authors put forward a workflow for using text analysis to identify underlying risks in operational risk event descriptions.
Banks call for direct oversight of cloud providers by US regulators
Tri-opoly of cloud vendors “poses systemic risk” to financial sector, say risk managers
Goldman most threatened by Fed’s rejig of modelled capital charges
End of credit risk modelling and scaling up of SCB’s role could tip six US banks below minimum requirements
Integrating text mining and analytic hierarchy process risk assessment with knowledge graphs for operational risk analysis
This paper proposes a new method, entitled the risk-based knowledge graph, which is designed to make analysis of safety records from an operational risk perspective easier and more efficient.
Op risk data: UBS lands $380m Archegos loss
Also: BofA billed for bilking customers; red faces over Deutsche greenwashing. Data by ORX News
Third-party guidance spurs US bank rethink on fintech partners
For conventional vendors, banks say due diligence rules will be the toughest challenge
Banks slam zombie floors in Basel endgame proposal
US regulators double down on capital floors despite clampdown on internal models
Power play: how geopolitics is shaping op risk at G-Sibs
Op Risk Benchmarking: Geopolitics is a top five fear for G-Sibs, but most banks lack specialist risk staff and classical tools
Sizing cyber: banks split on who owns and measures hack threats
Op Risk Benchmarking: G-Sibs split on risk modelling and management for IT disruption and infosec
Op Risk Benchmarking: Inside the G-Sibs
New initiative scrutinises op risk measurement and management practices at the world’s largest banks
Op risk data: Aussie insurers caught out in chronic pricing misconduct
Also: JP Morgan settles Epstein lawsuit; US in crypto clampdown. Data by ORX News
Banks frequently breach appetite for top op risks
Op Risk Benchmarking: Five G-Sibs breached appetite in past year across four risk types, new research reveals
Citi cyber chief says AI providing new weapons in hacking wars
Barron-DiCamillo also urges regulators to work with industry best practice, not against it
Clients versus compliance: banks hung up over WhatsApp fines
Most opt for outright ban, but some seek technological solutions to monitor private messaging
Banks’ internal watchdogs bark back at ChatGPT
Generative AI has plenty of uses in finance, but banks must first overcome compliance headaches