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In December 2013, the New York Jets played the Oakland Raiders at the Met Life stadium in New Jersey in temperatures close to freezing. Those of us at the game dressed for deep winter and watched the fourth quarter in the falling snow. Two weeks later, the Jets played their final home game in the same stadium, in 71 degrees, with the crowd wearing t-shirts and tailgating like it was late summer.

The Super Bowl will kick off at the Met Life stadium on February 2, 2014. This presents a preparation

Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs), by simply being so labeled, have been forced into the financial services and public spotlight. The debates regarding SIFI status range from the likelihood of lower costs of capital, because of being identified as too big to fail, to whether SIFIs should be forced to make divestments to reduce their size and complexity to the point they are no longer systemically important. Within that particular debate the benefits to the sector of economies

Integration is a hot topic this year for risk professionals. In PRMIA’s 2013 survey of buy-side risk management trends, a lack of front-to-back integration of systems emerged as the second biggest technology challenge, pipped only by the need to create a complete view of risk from multiple risk systems.

Poor integration compromises risk management quality

Why the need for front-to-back integration? The financial and Eurozone crises have highlighted the need to manage risk more proactively and in a

As financial institutions have become more complex, so have their risk management systems – and that’s a problem.

Organisations that have grown through acquisition and diversification typically find themselves running a huge number of different systems: whether for different asset classes, different types of risk and/or for different operating entities.

That complexity is causing major issues. Research carried out by the Professional Risk Managers International Association (PRMIA) in March 2013 re

Regardless of the drama and conjecture within the debates there is one certainty already evident – local supervisors are carrying out spot checks on Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs), to ensure that their risk management policies and practices are comprehensive, documented and are being complied in practice. 

Can you Benefit from a Supervisory Spot Check? Download whitepaper to find out. 

It is common for departments or individuals to maintain a repository in isolation, feeling

11 October was the deadline for CP13/5 responses on the FCA’s proposed changes to, amongst other things, CASS 7.  It’s highly likely that the FCA will get its way and push through material changes to the current CASS 7 Client money rules.  And rightly so as they want firms to reconcile client money faster, more accurately and with improved record keeping – all to ensure consumers are not let down by those holding their money.

The client money reconciliations and recordkeeping section of the consu

According to a report published by Technology Business Research last week, IT investment among North American banks is on the rise, with one of the main drivers for this being data management. This echoes findings of research SunGard recently conducted into risk management trends and priorities among more than 750 of our banking customers in 60 countries. Over 50% of respondents confirmed that their IT budgets for risk management has increased or remained stable since 2012. In the US, 65% of ban

Coming out of the financial crisis the banking industry has found itself under scrutiny with regards to its resilience and questions have been raised about financial institutions’ abilities to weather another storm. How good are your preparations in reality?

If you want to know what shape your crisis readiness is really in, you need to start by re-appraising your stress testing framework. The objective is to prepare for potentially disastrous conditions in advance – instead of picking up the piec

Those of us interested in EU risk regulation may be interested in the Action Plan that the European Risk Forum (ERF) issued a couple of months ago. The ERF Action Plan builds on and integrates the Commission Smart Regulation agenda, covering issues such as the EU Law on Administrative Procedures; public consultation, impact assessment and regulatory benefits; the role of the Commission’s Chief Scientific Advisor; and the application of the precautionary principle. 

The ERF is a think-tank committ

With the recent introduction of recording for voice and SMS on mobile phones for trading activities in the UK, many technologists were raising the issue of “Big Data” as additional voice recording requirements contribute to the growing repository of data being held by their firms to meet with regulator requirements. Although regulators around the globe are driving for greater visibility and a more comprehensive record of past trading activities, this additional data can also serve a purpose in o

Just three years ago the G20 leaders agreed upon a common course to regulate the financial markets, with focus on standardising OTC derivatives. In that time regulators have created the largest reform packages since the dawn of modern financial history including Dodd-Frank and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).

But are market participants prepared to cope with the consequences of these regulatory behemoths? With regards to OTC derivatives, under the new rules, these are suppose

Fitch’s publication made the news in the Financial Times recently. An extra $566bn has been announced as the figure big banks will need to meet the tougher Basel III bank capital standards.
But how will financial institutions meet these steep capital requirements? Find out at Euromoney’s Basel III: The Resolution Conference.

Hear from commercial giants including Lloyds Banking Group, Rabobank, Commerzbank and Unicredit on their strategies for optimising capital in light of the Basel III guidelines

When it comes to central clearing houses and regulation, it has been a hive of activity this year.

Literally every jurisdiction is in the midst of trying in someway to fit swap contracts from the OTC domain into a clearing house. It appears however, that some clearing houses seem to be having better luck at doing this than others. 

For those interested in a quick update of global developments, please follow this link.

It is a time of clichés for banks as they currently find themselves caught in a Catch-22, stuck between a rock and a hard place. In the UK, government initiatives such as ‘Project Merlin’ have been put in place to encourage banks to lend more freely. At the same time, new regulations or initiatives such as Basel III, Recovery and Resolution plans and leverage limits are coming to the fore, increasing the capital adequacy and liquidity requirements for banks around the world. So how do banks walk

(A report from 
the Economist Intelligence Unit)

More than ever, boards and senior management want to understand overall risk exposures, and be provided with clear, consistent information in a timely manner. With corporate governance legislation increasingly stressing the importance of personal liability and accountability for executives and non-executives, companies cannot afford to be in the dark about their risk position

 Visibility into decision making can help preserve a company’s reputatio

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As last year drew to a close, the Peoples Bank of China cut the reserve requirement for local banks in an effort to swiftly ease funding liquidity conditions in the country.

2012 is set to be a dynamic year in the financial advisory sector. With the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review (RDR) coming into effect in December 2012, IFAs have to up the ante with standardised professional qualifications and increased transparency of charges and services. With time running out to comply, it is not a matter of when, but how to prepare for RDR. In fact I recently attended FIMA Europe in London which echoed this trend. Post-RDR preparation is the number one priority for internal

Reg. E ( specifically 205.11 Procedures for resolving errors
) as those in the business who know like to call it is, in short, the law gives
consumers protection and certain rights regarding claims of fraud and/ or
errors on their bank accounts.

When this provision was first
established, it was a victory for the honest consumer because some banking institutions
may have made it incumbent upon the consumer to prove they did not commit the
fraud reported in their accounts resulting in denial of their cla