Friday Five Round-Up Episode 4: Operational Resilience in Financial Services
Published by Ben Saunders - OpRes Founder
Roughly a 2-minute read
With temperatures soaring in the United Kingdom this week, it feels only apt that things are starting to heat up here at OpRes HQ. Our MVP is almost ready and there has been a flurry of new publications and editorials that are reporting on all manner of financial services related operational resilience topics. As ever, we have collated the hottest of the hot for your perusal!
Pressure and mounting scrutiny are being placed on BigTech and FinTech as financial services become more dependent on third parties to operate their important business services. Greater emphasis is being placed on how firms manage and govern their supply chains as a result. Whilst ESG related topics continue to gather significant momentum across financial services. We’ve got quite a lot of ground to cover. So let’s get to it!
We hope you enjoy the read!
5th September - ESG, corporate purpose, cyber, top list of CEO priorities
Earlier this week, Mirage news reported on KPMG’s annual CEO Outlook and it was no surprise to see ESG, cyber and operational resilience coming out on top of their agendas. The report highlighted that firms are investing in 3 key themes to improve their operational resilience. Namely:
52% of respondents indicated that building secure cloud-based technology is a core component of their operations; resilience responses. (52 percent); enhanced cyber security skills
48 percent of respondents noted ongoing and growing investments in cybersecurity.
Whilst 44% of those surveyed stated that they are looking at improving supply chain management and governance to bolster operational resilience efforts.
6th September - AFME, Capco warn against ‘localising' effects of regulations aimed at banks’ increasingly global operations
Our friends over at Capco have published a new white paper along with AFME discussing localised versus regional administration of operational resilience policies and standards. In short, the paper calls for policymakers to recognise the benefits of global operating approaches. Remarking that “any future legislation does not inadvertently impact a bank’s clients or the development of resilient, innovative, and efficient operations and technology in capital markets. The paper was published a matter of days ago and has some detailed and very relevant perspectives. You can read the paper here.
7th September - Agencies extend comment period on proposed risk management guidance for third-party relationships
Over in the USA, the Federal Reserve has announced an extension on it’s consultation period regarding how Banking organizations manage risks associated with third-party relationships, including their relationships with financial technology-focused entities. It’s not surprising to see more commentary in this space. Especially with a boom in Banking as Service propositions being launched across North America in the last 18-months.
Which is a nice segway into our next story…. !
8th September - New release: AWS digital banking microsite
AWS has launched a new microsite that discusses the opportunities firms can unlock by building digital-first banking products on their infrastructure and higher-level services. The microsite promotes ~23 new banking solutions that make use of AWS’s rich stock of infrastructure and innovation services. These vary from greenfield brands and product builds. To offshoots and subsidiaries of existing institutions.
I am a big fan of cloud, especially AWS and I genuinely believe that it can increase a firm’s ability to remain resilient and competitive in an increasingly crowded marketplace. However, there is no doubt that the cloud brings new and complex challenges for firms. Especially in the realms of 3rd & 4th party relationship mapping.
Queue natural segway number 2!
8th September Regulators’ Revenge: Fintechs’ Success Spurs Calls for More Oversight
The Financial Brand has been discussing the potential onset of greater regulations on third-party FinTech’s that provide critical services to financial institutions across the globe. The adoption of fintech applications in payments, banking, and investment platforms is soaring. The editorial discusses the perspectives of legislators and analysts who are suggesting that greater regulations are needed to ensure consumer protection, data security, and operational resilience across financial services. It’s an interesting read and one we recommend you take a look at.
Thanks for Reading
That’s it for this week’s round-up. Thanks for reading and if you want to have Operational Resilience news beats sent directly to your mailbox, then feel free to register your details via our online form.
Have a great weekend! All the best,
Ben
