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Last week, we introduced the latest findings from studies of the RIMS Risk Maturity Model (RMM). In an effort to explain the model and results of the study more fully, it’s beneficial to break the RMM into each of its attributes. This week we’ll examine the first two attributes of an effective ERM program, ERM Based Approach and ERM Process Management.

ERM Based Approach

The focus of this attribute is to move organizations from an old, obsolete style of governance to a more holistic, integrated ap

Despite a significant rise in the number of affluent investors, the wealth management industry’s track record of keeping its customers happy is still poor. One of the key problems affecting customers of execution-only brokers, for example, is the cost and complexity of transferring investment products between providers. It seems likely that the wealth industry regulators will follow retail banking in making switching rules quick and simple for their customers. Are wealth managers doing their bit

Most fiduciaries who use target date funds are inviting lawsuits

Over the weekend while traveling, I was reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, and as coincidence would have it, I hit “Chapter Seven: The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes,” at a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet.

The challenge with Enterprise Risk Management is quantifying how many disasters have been prevented due to its efforts.  Because of this, there is still skepticism among senior management around exactly how ERM can help to prevent major operational, strategic, regulatory, and reputational di

Colleges and Universities are some of the most at risk institutions when it comes to high profiles failures in risk management. Reputational risk – and remaining off the homepage of CNN – requires an active approach to managing enterprise governance, and most universities are unsure where to start. An Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) report finds:

“After five years of change and upheaval, why is it that governing boards of colleges and universities continue to co

By defining a clear statement of risk appetite, the board and executive can establish clear boundaries within which the organization can execute the strategy and manage risk. It also provides the foundation for cascading the strategy and risk management disciplines through the organization, thus shaping the organization culture. Read more in the Risk-Based Performance Management book #RBPM www.riskbasedperformance.com

The new personal, tailored Journey Risk Assessments and Travel Risk Assessments are live

Journey and Travel Risk Assessments.

The new Country Aviation Risk Ratings are Live at www.countryaviationratings.com

The Risk-Based Performance Management (RBPM) book will be launched tonight in London. Register now at http://tinyurl.com/omztc2n to attend.

“The failure to properly evaluate and challenge risk of overall business strategies was probably the biggest intellectual failure of boards, regulators and shareholders.” Lord Turner, Chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority. Read more in the Risk-Based Performance Management book #RBPM 

The Relevant Bank concept challenges attempts to finish the roof before starting the foundations.

What does being The Relevant Bank actually mean? First and foremost, it means being relevant personally – offering products and services consumers want, at the moments and through the channels they prefer.

For some time, one of the bits of received wisdom in consumer banking circles has been that you focus on high value customers and endeavor to engage them with high value products and services. In it

Hack Wilson was an MLB star in the 1920’s, but he had a drinking problem. Realizing his potential, Hack’s manager pulled him into the dugout and said, “If I drop a worm into a glass of water, it swims around fine. If I drop it into a glass of whiskey, it immediately dies. What does this prove?”

Hack responded, “If you drink whiskey, you’ll never get worms.”

Hack’s observation, while misguided, provides a lesson in the difficulty of training and educating employees. Over the next several weeks, I h

There is growing recognition that the dispersion of credit risk by banks to a broader and more diverse group of investors, rather than warehousing such risk on their balance sheets, has helped make the banking and overall financial system more resilient.

The improved resilience may be seen in fewer bank failures and more consistent credit provision. Consequently the commercial banks may be less vulnerable today to credit or economic shocks.  IMF Global Financial Stability Report in April 2006. Re

Currently, the most a British senior can claim in state pension is £113.10 per week, which equates to roughly £452.40 per month. If you're accustomed to living off the income of a full time job, dropping to a state pension can be a real shock to the system. Unfortunately, that's the price we pay for more freedom and a few extra lay ins here and there. Of course, if we've built up a private pension over the years, this can supplement the state pension nicely, but it can still be quite nerve wrack

Where are there more homicides? Detroit or Michigan?

Most people would say Detroit, even though every murder in Detroit also takes place in Michigan. Our initial impressions, even those we have the utmost confidence in, can quickly and easily lead us astray. Avoiding such misconceptions is the value that risk assessments provide ERM programs.

Many risk managers we hear from rightfully criticize risk assessments designed around impact and likelihood to be too subjective, high level, and “fluffy”

The failure to foresee the timing, extent and severity of the crisis and to head it off, while it had many causes, was principally a failure of the collective imagination of many bright people, both in this country and internationally, to understand the risks to the system as a whole. The British Academy on the causes of the Credit Crunch. Read more in the Risk-Based Performance Management book #RBPM

Banks continue to increase their social media presence, especially on Twitter. But for all the talk of 24/7 omnichannel experiences, the number of institutions offering a genuine round the clock, real-time Twitter service to customers remains small. For today’s social-media savvy customer, that simply isn’t good enough.

But things are changing. Nationwide, the UK-based building society, has become the first in the UK market to offer 24/7 Twitter support through ‘@AskNationwide’. This leaves other

Please take part in our latest research project related to the integration of strategy and risk management.

Take the survey at http://fluidsurveys.com/s/integrated-strategy-and-risk-research/

To future economic historians, the Credit Crunch might be the defining moment that separates the industrial age from the networked, digitized (or whatever name they assign to it) era we moved into in the early part of the 21st century. The Risk-Based Performance Management book. #RBPM

Many business cases for Enterprise Risk Management programs begin with what senior management can expect in terms of return on investment (ROI). While ROI may not be the best indicator of ERM success (it’s tough to quantify the monetary value of risks you’ve mitigated), there are simple and direct steps you can take to demonstrate the efficiency your program will gain through the implementation of an ERM system.

On average, risk managers spend 62% of their time on tactical, rather than strategic,