Risk management overhaul tops bank agendas for 2009 - KPMG



This latest survey, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of KPMG, reveals that banking executives named an aggressive profit based incentives and remuneration system (52%), followed closely by lack of risk governance (50%) and risk culture (48%) as leading contributors leading up to the credit crisis.

Joanna Declercq-Zelechowska, a Partner in the financial risk management practice at KPMG in the UAE commented:

We recommend our clients to conduct short, independent diagnostic of their current risk management framework in order to identify the key gaps, opportunities for rationalization and efficiency improvements. The banks should continue to work on the improvements towards a wide-enterprise risk culture, which among includes giving risk management a seat at the table when critical decisions are being made.

While 85% of respondents say that they have already reviewed, or are in the process of reviewing their risk management procedures, another 70% say that they are planning to undertake a review. Only 42% of the respondents have made - or plan to make - fundamental changes to their risk processes.

Joanna adds that reporting and measuring of risk at 78% while risk governance and culture at 77% were cited as investment priorities for banks over the coming year in the survey, reiterating that 78% of respondents want to improve the way risk is measured and reported, to help improve the accuracy of forecasts.

Source: AME Info