The sphere

of control
Accenture 2019
Global Risk Management Study
Banking Report
Discover how banking leaders are taking a holistic
view of the risk landscape, prioritizing what they
do know and preparing for what they don’t.
Contents
3 17
INTRODUCTION SECTION 4
Evolving ecosystems, Combatting cyber threats
evolving threats in a digital, open banking era

7 21
SECTION 1 SECTION 5
Financial crime: a Don’t overlook LIBOR
disaggregated ecosystem retirement
exposes new vulnerabilities

25
SECTION 6

12
SECTION 2 How banks can manage
Credit risk: a new way today’s major threats
to tackle an old foe

28
CONCLUSION

14
SECTION 3 Define your sphere of control
AI tools ease compliance
with new regulation
INTRODUCTION

Evolving ecosystems,
evolving threats
Banking risk teams need a fresh approach to manage
the threats unleashed by emerging technology,
open banking, and relentless competition.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 3

Introduction Evolving ecosystems, evolving threats

Welcome to This year we explore how banks are responding to emerging risks,
particularly those relating to financial crime, credit risk, changing

Accenture’s
regulation, cyber threats and LIBOR retirement.

2019 Global Risk

This report presents the findings from For a start, risk managers across financial
our 2019 Global Risk Management Study, services acknowledge that complex,

Management
which uncovers how 683 surveyed risk interconnected new risks are emerging at
executives across the entire financial a more rapid pace than ever before. Nearly
services industry, including those working six in ten say that disruptive technology

Study report for banks, insurance and capital markets

businesses, are adapting to the ever-
risk has greater impact on their business
today than it did two years ago.

on banking.
increasing pace and volume of change
outside the four walls of the organization.
What did we find in the survey?
Let’s quickly recap before delving
deeper into the banking findings.
A major cause of their concern relates to
the growing adoption of new technologies
across the organization. Of course, these
technologies hold immense potential
to unleash growth and drive efficiencies,
but risk functions worry about the potential
for unforeseen consequences, which
they are currently not capable of
identifying or assessing.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 4

Introduction Evolving ecosystems, evolving threats
57%
of our study respondents
expect to use marketing
data to support their risk
management activity in
two years’ time, but only
39 percent do so today.
Faced with an increasingly complex, but data-rich
risk environment, risk functions should invest in
smart technologies such as artificial intelligence
(AI) and natural language processing (NLP) that
have immense potential to improve effectiveness
and efficiency. Indeed, survey respondents that
have deployed machine learning feel much more
confident that they have prepared their business
for volatile future scenarios.
But while the benefits are significant, risk functions’
use of the most sophisticated technologies is
currently limited. Our study findings indicate that
the risk function is aware of the need to embrace
these new tools, but is simply slow in making
effective use of these to date.
Technology aside, an effective risk function is one
that is armed with the data it needs to anticipate,
assess, and ultimately mitigate emerging threats.
But today, many are not. For example, 57 percent
of our study respondents expect to use marketing
data to support their risk management activity in
two years’ time, but only 39 percent do so today.
Getting access to relevant data is one thing, but
maintaining the quality and knowing how to analyze
it effectively to generate useful insights remains a
significant challenge. The risk managers we surveyed
as part of the 2019 Global Risk Management Study
realize that they fall short here, so they are urgently
seeking to improve both their data-collection and
analysis skills: 63 percent are urgently improving
their ability to collect enterprise-wide data, and
66 percent are honing their ability to analyze it.
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 5
Introduction Evolving ecosystems, evolving threats
Which threats are our cohort
of 255 bank risk executives most
concerned about? We asked risk
managers as part of Accenture’s
2019 Global Risk Management
Study, and found them concerned
about the old and the new.
Top of the list is financial crime. Credit risk This creates a long-term strategic threat in
is second, and evolving regulation and the form of loss of market share. But it also
cyber threats are joint-third. causes immediate vulnerabilities that make
financial crime and cyber attacks harder
Risk leaders have grappled with these to detect and prevent.
threats for years. But the nature of each
of them is now changing, which demands This report looks at the most pressing risks,
new responses. Traditional risks have explores how threats are changing, and
morphed into more challenging threats, sets out a way for banks to respond.
in part due to the banking ecosystem being
in flux. Gone are the days when customers
purchased all of their banking services from
large household names; new entrants,
open banking regulation and advances in
technology mean that the heritage industry
players now face stiff competition from
challenger banks and FinTechs (financial
technology firms) for an increasing scope
of products and services.
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 6
SECTION 1

Financial crime:
a disaggregated
ecosystem exposes
new vulnerabilities
Surveyed banks pinpoint financial crime
as their top concern (see Figure 1).

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 7

Section 1 Financial crime: a disaggregated ecosystem exposes new vulnerabilities

That is no surprise: Every year, banks have to invest millions
in anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer
compliance. Research puts the total figure at $25bn annually
for U.S. financial services,1 and at $20bn annually in Europe.2
Figure 1. Areas of greatest concern to the banking industry
Thinking specifically about the banking industry, which of the following
areas are currently causing your business the greatest amount of concern?

Those that don’t make this investment also run the risk of
incurring significant regulatory fines and reputational damage. Financial crime, including AML & fraud 49%
Costs aside, risk and compliance procedures implemented to Credit risk 35%
prevent financial crime can themselves create a risk of adding Financial crime and credit
too much friction to the customer journey, whether it be the risk cause greatest concern
identification requirements for opening a new bank account or
credit card transactions that are declined due to fraud concerns. Evolving regulation 29%
Increasing frequency & sophistication of cyber threats 29%
This all represents a huge headache, but it is not necessarily Customer interest in technology-enabled offerings 25%
new. So why is financial crime the top worry today? Emergence of non-traditional competitors 20%
Shifts in the macroeconomic variables 19%
Open banking models 15%
Impact of geopolitical change in key regions 13%
Maturity of the business cycle 13%
Growth in sub-prime 11%
Retirement of LIBOR 7%

Source: Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 8

Section 1 Financial crime: a disaggregated ecosystem exposes new vulnerabilities

Figure 2. Level of confidence in managing
the impact of financial crime
How confident are you that your risk function is set up to fully support
your business in managing threats related to financial crime?
Put simply, financial crime is becoming more
complex. Today, bad actors use sophisticated
cyber attacks and seek to exploit gaps in the
increasingly complex banking ecosystem
to perpetrate financial crime.

In parallel, one effect of open banking and

Highly confident 11% the rise of FinTechs is that customers spend
Only 11 percent are highly confident in managing less time interacting directly with their banks.
the impact of financial crime This creates more challenges for institutions
to build up a picture of ‘normal behavior’
Slightly confident 32% and to spot abnormal activity that could
be a sign of financial crime.
Neither confident
nor unconfident 29% No wonder only 11 percent of study
respondents are highly confident in their
Not very confident 27% ability to help their businesses mitigate
the impact of financial crime (see Figure 2).
Not at all confident 1%

Source: Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 9

Section 1 Financial crime: a disaggregated ecosystem exposes new vulnerabilities

Bots, not bodies

Banks should invest more to stay on top of this increasingly bewildering
threat. But simply increasing headcount to do more of the same won’t work.

12%
Instead, they are encouraged to do two things.

First, they should explore how smart technologies
such as AI and machine learning can assist in
detecting and preventing financial crime. We know
that only 12 percent of surveyed risk functions use
machine learning, but it could be invaluable in
spotting the anomalies in data that might indicate
financial crime. They can also learn patterns in
data—such as a known risk entity combined with
an obscure structuring arrangement—that indicate
malicious activity, and flag when they occur.
To be effective, this should take place in real time in
multiple channels across the enterprise. Of course,
firms should strike the right balance between
limiting fraud and not introducing significant
friction into the customer experience.
But these tools are only as good as the data
that feeds them. Unless banks devote effort and
resources into cleansing and synthesizing their
data, these technologies could spit out false
positives. So, significant investment in data
Only 12 percent of
should accompany investment in analytical tools.
surveyed risk functions
Second, risk managers should reconsider how use machine learning.
financial crime risk is managed. Threats are now
appearing at the intersections of previously
discrete risks, so a siloed approach—where specific
teams manage individual threats—won’t work.
Instead, risk teams should explore a ‘hub and spoke’
model. The ‘hub’ provides centralized expertise
and oversight, and the spokes specialize in specific
categories of financial crime.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 10

Section 1 Financial crime: a disaggregated ecosystem exposes new vulnerabilities

“The banks that keep adding more bodies to tackle

the problem in the same old way are also the slowest
to respond to the changing risk environment.
It becomes increasingly expensive and complicated
if you don’t invest in data and analytics, aren’t ultra-
proactive around the business challenge, and don’t
drive the workforce to be more proactive about risk,
problems will persist and mount.”
Steve Culp
Senior Managing Director, Accenture Financial Services
Management Consulting and Finance & Risk

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 11

SECTION 2

Credit risk: a new way

to tackle an old foe
Credit risk has existed for as long as banks themselves.
Today, it is banks’ second greatest concern, and only
13 percent of respondents are highly confident in their
ability to manage this risk.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 12

Section 2 Credit risk: a new way to tackle an old foe

This is unsurprising, given the recent surge in global debt levels.

According to the Institute of International Finance, global debt “Has the way that banks manage
currently stands at its second-highest dollar level on record
following an unexpected rise in the first quarter of 2019.3
credit risk really changed in
the last five years? While some
progress has been made,
How can banks better manage credit risk? One way is to deploy
automation, AI, and other smart technologies to assess credit
risk—whether in relation to a mortgage, credit card loan, or other
loan. These technologies can be used to validate credit risk the answer for most is ‘no’.
models or even permit credit decisioning at the point of sale.
Of course, automation should be introduced responsibly and AI and intelligent automation
should not bake biases into credit decision-making.
bring benefits to do this,
But while some forward-thinking financial institutions are
like greater efficiency and
effectiveness, while adding
using smart technologies extensively to help assess credit risk,
the majority of banks still employ large teams to manually analyze
loan applications. Smart technologies can reduce the cost and
improve the accuracy of this process. to existing human capabilities.”
Technology aside, there are other ways to tackle credit risk
Steve Culp
creatively. Some leading banks, for instance, are widening the
spectrum of criteria they consider when evaluating credit risk—
Senior Managing Director, Accenture Financial Services
firms’ cyber vulnerabilities is one example of a new consideration. Management Consulting and Finance & Risk

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 13

SECTION 3

AI tools ease
compliance with
new regulation
The post-crisis tidal wave of financial services regulation has
passed, but banks surveyed as part of the 2019 Global Risk
Management Study still cite evolving regulation as their
joint-third most pressing concern, alongside cyber threats.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 14

Section 3 AI tools ease compliance with new regulation
Why is regulation still such a concern?
For a start, there is the cost. Banks have
invested significantly in complying with
privacy regulations such as the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), and are vulnerable
to huge fines if they do not comply or suffer a
significant data breach. Then there is increased
supervision of banks. Rather than just laying
down the law, regulators are now more proactive
in checking compliance and requesting data
that demonstrates compliance.
That is all taking its toll:
Just 10 percent of surveyed
banks are highly confident
in their ability to manage
regulatory risk.
How can regulatory risk be managed more
effectively? The first step is to clarify where
the balance of responsibility lies between the
first and second lines of defense for designing
and testing the risk controls adopted in
response to new regulation.
In parallel, risk managers should investigate
and deploy some of the latest tools and work
processes that identify and then assess the
consequences of regulatory changes.
Indeed, we have observed that leading risk
functions have deployed AI and machine learning-
based technologies that scan speeches, news
outlets and regulators’ websites for information
that indicates that new regulation is being
considered. These tools then track proposed
regulation as it passes into law. When it is, they scan,
synthesize and de-duplicate relevant regulatory
text before it is ingested into the organization,
where it is analyzed in order to create actionable
objectives. This approach has the added benefit of
creating an audit trail of how banks apply new rules.
Banking risk managers should also get better
at engaging with regulators. As regulators ask
for more and more datasets, risk teams are
expected to improve their ability to produce
data and analytics on demand. And effective
engagement is consistent engagement:
Banks should look at their internal organization
and decide who will be responsible for
working with regulators so that a consistent
response is provided.
Risk functions should also demonstrate data
transparency and traceability to regulators.
In the future, they may have to articulate how
their organizations are deploying technologies
such as AI responsibly so that certain sections
of society are not discriminated against.
One simple practical step that can be taken to
bolster relations is to invite relevant regulatory
stakeholders to observe the disruptive work
that is happening at innovation labs.
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 15
Section 3 AI tools ease compliance with new regulation

“Risk functions have to improve how they

engage with regulators. Many need to
develop the capability to provide data on
request more efficiently, for example through
regulatory APIs to improve transparency.”
Rafael Gomes
Managing Director, Accenture Financial Services
Finance & Risk

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 16

SECTION 4

Combatting cyber
threats in a digital,
open banking era
The increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber
threats is surveyed as banks’ joint-third greatest risk.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 17

Section 4 Combatting cyber threats in a digital, open banking era

Figure 3. Level of confidence in managing It is there because of the relentless pace

the impact of cyber attacks of bad actors’ innovation and the financial
How confident are you that your risk function is set up to fully support and reputational damage that a major
your business in managing threats relating to the increasing frequency attack can inflict on an organization.
and sophistication of cyber attacks?

Only 9 percent of risk managers are

highly confident in their ability to manage
Highly confident 9% cyber attacks (see Figure 3). That is partly
Only 9 percent are highly confident in managing because the methods of attack constantly
the impact of cyber attacks change, but also because the new
banking ecosystem has introduced
Slightly confident 32% cyber vulnerabilities.

Neither confident For example, the advent of open

nor unconfident 33% banking, which requires banks to open
up their systems and data to third parties,
Not very confident 26% entangles the two together like never
before. As a result, banks should no longer
Not at all confident 0% just protect their own networks; they
should maintain cyber resilience across
the entire ecosystem.

Source: Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 18

Section 4 Combatting cyber threats in a digital, open banking era

Smart tech holds promise,

but don’t forget the basics
How can banks foster cyber resiliency? With their huge potential to,

43%
for example, detect and classify malware or to identify suspicious
activity across the network, new technologies such as AI and
machine learning offer one answer.

However, only 43 percent of banks
surveyed as part of Accenture’s 2018
State of Resilience Study use machine
learning and AI for cyber security.4
That might be a disappointingly
low proportion, but it does offer
immediate scope for banks to improve
their cyber resiliency by deploying
sophisticated technology.
Yet there is work to do first. These
technologies should only be deployed
once the basics have been implemented:
The organization should train its people
to spot malicious activity, such as phishing;
categorize its most important data; and
Only 43 percent of banks
make sure that this data is protected.
use machine learning and
Banks should also make sure that their AI for cyber security.
ecosystem alliances are getting the cyber
security basics right. Only 38 percent of the
State of Resilience banking respondents
hold their alliances to the same cyber
security standards as themselves,5 so they
should prioritize a collaborative approach
to getting cyber defenses up to standard.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 19

Section 4 Combatting cyber threats in a digital, open banking era

“Previously banks looked at risks in silos.

But new threats are emerging at the intersection
of things like cyber attacks, money laundering
and open banking, for example.
To free up capacity to explore what’s new,
banks should take steps to standardize,
automate and even outsource the management
of some of the more established risks.”
Rafael Gomes
Managing Director, Accenture Financial Services
Finance & Risk

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 20

SECTION 5

Don’t overlook
LIBOR retirement
The 2021 retirement of LIBOR and transition to
other interbank offered rates (IBORs) may not
pose an immediate threat that is of the same
magnitude as other risks discussed in this
report, but it can’t be ignored.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 21

Section 5 Don’t overlook LIBOR retirement
Whether it is the risk of basis
exposure, the sheer effort required to
update LIBOR provisions in contracts,
or managing conduct risk, LIBOR
transition is a major undertaking that
demands proactive risk management.
Non-risk business leaders
acknowledge this and have called
on risk teams to assist. Almost
three-quarters of financial services
businesses surveyed in Accenture’s
2019 LIBOR Survey say risk
management and front-office quant
teams are of greater importance
in supporting LIBOR transition.6
But our Global Risk Management Study
reveals that this call has, to date, gone
unanswered. Tellingly, just 7 percent
of banking risk managers cite LIBOR
retirement as a top-three concern.
They have not even recognized it as
a major threat, let alone started to act.
Now it is time for risk leaders
to step up. Instead of simply
recalibrating risk models, they
should work collaboratively
with other business functions
to unearth the impact on
the entire business.
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 22
Section 5 Don’t overlook LIBOR retirement

Uncover the hidden risks of LIBOR transition

What exactly should risk teams do to help prepare? The first step is to identify
and then quantify exposure to specific LIBOR risks. LIBOR exposure lurks
in hidden corners of businesses’ operations, so risk managers should be
thorough in their approach.

Second, risk managers should establish
a robust framework to assess and manage
the risks associated with the transition. This
should cover how the transition impacts a
range of risks, including foreign exchange
(FX) risk, liquidity risk and operations risk.
Importantly, risk teams should assess how
these risks materialize both internally and
externally. A poorly timed and ill-executed
transition strategy—both internally
and across the entire financial services
industry—could potentially leave firms
with illiquid assets, higher capital charges
and significant operational risk.
Conduct risk should also remain in focus.
Whether in relation to client interactions
or contributing to the new benchmark,
risk managers should devise measures
to protect clients and markets from abuse.
This could involve enhanced training
controls or market education programs.
In parallel, risk teams should review new
and amended products to make sure
they do not adversely impact clients.
The outcome of this, and the fact that
it has taken place, should be clearly
communicated to customers and built
into outreach and negotiation strategies.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 23

Section 5 Don’t overlook LIBOR retirement

LIBOR retirement is fast

approaching. Risk managers
should act quickly or be
left behind as the rest
of the business prepares
for the transition.
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 24
SECTION 6

How banks can manage

today’s major threats
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to
mitigating today’s risks, and there are no quick
wins. The picture is intricate and changing fast.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 25

Section 6 How banks can manage today’s major threats
But there are a number of steps that risk managers can take to effectively
position their business to cope with new threats. These are:
1. Map out risk
interdependencies
Banks can no longer think about risks as isolated, distinct
threats: Today, everything is connected. Financial crime
risk has become more complex as a result of open banking
and growing cyber security threats. And cyber threats
themselves are now intertwined with data privacy and
reputational risk. The list goes on.
Risk managers should first map out how risks are related
before they can organize their teams to manage them.
For example, it is impossible to adequately manage
financial crime without an understanding of cyber
security risk and open banking.
That interdependence has one obvious ramification:
Risk teams should not operate in silos. Instead, they
should draw on expertise from across the function
to truly understand how threats are interlinked.
2. Prioritize data hygiene
Smart analytical technologies such as AI and machine
learning can help risk functions to detect threats.
But they won’t work if the data that feeds into them
is not clean or synthesized. For example, these tools
produce a huge number of false positives if banks
use different naming conventions for customers
and suppliers in different departments.
It is impossible to standardize data across the
entire organization. But risk managers should still
implement the necessary structures and governance
controls to keep data as clean as possible. AI tools
can also be deployed to cleanse data.
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 26
Section 6 How banks can manage today’s major threats
3. Right-size new product
compliance to speed innovation
Traditional banks face new competition on
all fronts. In response, many have ramped
up their own innovation efforts and
created innovation labs that experiment
with new products and services.
The risk function should be called upon
at some stage to approve new products,
and it is here that tensions can surface.
The product team is keen to release its
new product to the market, but the risk
team might have hundreds of compliance
checks that have to be processed first.
Agility is key. Risk teams should only
process the checks that are absolutely
essential at the early stages of product
development. An overbearing approach
incorporating unnecessary checks
can stifle innovation and delay new
product releases.
“For AI, machine learning
The earlier the risk function involves
itself in new product development
the better. By providing early advice,
mistakes during the product
development stage can be avoided.
This in turn can hasten risk and
compliance checks when products
are developed.
This is not just about undertaking
checks at the right time, but also about
automating manual work. For example,
risk teams spend a lot of time checking
the risk profile of new products and
making sure that risky solutions are
not targeted at risk-averse clients.
Today, much of that work can
be automated.
and automation to take effect,
you need consistency of data.
Banks continue to struggle with this
due to both the significant volumes
and sources of data across various
systems as well as challenges with
the governance and ownership of
the data. It remains a critical issue
to resolve before you can scale
and effectively make use of
smart technologies.”
Steve Culp
Senior Managing Director
Accenture Finance Services
Management Consulting and Finance & Risk
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 27
CONCLUSION

Define your
sphere of control
Unknown, interconnected risks are multiplying at a
faster rate than ever before. It is impossible to try and
control all aspects of the complex business environment
in which banks operate, and the faster that risk leaders
acknowledge this fact, the better.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 28

Conclusion Define your sphere of control

Firstly, risk functions should prioritize what matters most. Those who can draw a clear line between the factors
Taking a holistic view of the risk environment, they should
have clear criteria to gauge the value of their assets and
they control and the factors they cannot are taking
assess which are most critical to protect. an important step towards focus and prioritization.
Equally, the risk management function should focus
Secondly, leaders should prepare their function by allocating
its efforts and energy on preparation and planning,
resources smartly, embracing the latest tools and technologies,
and upskilling their people so they can wield them reliably.
rather than on prediction—so irrespective of the
cause of the issue, the bank is ready to respond
Finally, risk leaders should build a more proactive function, effectively to mitigate the impact.
diligently scanning the horizon for the next threats, as risks
evolve and approach in unfamiliar forms. Rather than plan for This is how to manage your sphere of control.
specific eventualities, they should continue to prepare for
disruption—looking outwards in every direction.

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 29

References
1 
“Anti-money laundering compliance costs U.S. financial services firms
$25.3 billion per year, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions,” Cision PR Newswire,
October 10, 2018. Access at: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/
anti-money-laundering-compliance-costs-us-financial-services-firms-25-
3-billion-per-year-according-to-lexisnexis-risk-solutions-300728586.html

2 ”Europe is losing the fight against dirty money,” Politico, April 5, 2018.
Access at: https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-money-laundering-
is-losing-the-fight-against-dirty-money-europol-crime-rob-wainwright

3 “Global Debt Quickened in First Quarter, Outpacing World Economy,” Bloomberg,

July 15, 2019. Access at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-15/
global-debt-accelerated-in-1st-quarter-outpacing-world-economy

4 
“2018 State of Cyber Resilience for Banking & Capital Markets,” Accenture 2018.
Access at: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/financial-services/
2018-state-of-cyber-resilience

5 
Ibid

6 
“Accenture 2019 LIBOR Survey,” September 2019

Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 30

Acknowledgments
About the authors
Steve Culp
Steve Culp is a Senior Managing Director—
Accenture Financial Services, Management
Consulting and the Finance & Risk practice.
Based in Chicago, Steve has more than 25 years
of experience working with clients across multiple
geographies to define strategy and execute
change programs across risk management and
the broader finance function. His current focus
is to work with client leadership to help them
advance their business performance through
innovative strategies, processes and change.
Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance
and Economics from Northern Illinois University
and earned an Executive Master of Business
Administration degree at Kellogg in 1999.
Contributors: Sam Regan, Andrew Solow, Tales Lopes and Jeff Jamison
Fred Kim
Fred Kim is a Managing Director—Accenture
Financial Services, Finance & Risk, and leads the
Finance & Risk Banking group in North America.
Based in Charlotte, Fred has over 20 years of
experience in banking, working with some of
the world’s leading financial institutions. With
his functional experience in commercial and
consumer lending, risk management, process
re-engineering, operating model design and
risk data management, Fred guides and helps
risk management executives transform their
enterprise capabilities with innovative strategies
and digital solutions. Fred has a BA and an
MBA from the University of Michigan.
Rafael Gomes
Rafael Gomes is a Managing Director—
Accenture Financial Services, Finance &
Risk. Based in London, he is the Regulation
and Compliance Lead for Financial Services
Consulting in the UK and Ireland. Rafael’s
client engagements cover regulatory
response, conduct and ethics, and
behavioral analytics in banking and capital
markets. He is a recognized thought leader
in compliance and a former recipient of
the Robin Cosgrove Global Prize for Ethics
in Finance for work based on his PhD in
conduct risk and regulatory relations.
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 31
About the research
The Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study is the sixth edition
of our study first published in 2009. It is based on a telephone survey
(computer-assisted telephone interviewing, CATI) of 683 senior risk
management executives conducted by Longitude Research Ltd on
behalf of Accenture between March 2019 and April 2019.
Survey participants were sourced from around the world and work
in three sectors within financial services: banking (255 participants),
capital markets (201 participants), and insurance (227 participants).
To complement the survey data, Accenture applied natural language
processing to a database of earnings calls and conference transcripts from
2010 to 2018 in order to verify financial services firms’ most pressing risks.
This analysis covered 225 firms in banking, capital markets, and insurance.
It identifies the risk types being addressed, the intensity of the discussion,
and how this changes over time.
For each of the 10 risk types probed, a set of keywords were developed
to generate a risk frequency. This frequency was then divided by the total
number of words available for each company across all earnings calls and
conference transcripts to arrive at the proportion of transcripts devoted
to a risk overall and over time. This measure was then log-transformed to
smooth out extreme values and rescaled to allow relative comparisons
across risk types and industries.
Finally, a normalization process was applied to generate an index of values
between 0 and 100 for each company-risk type, where 100 indicates the
highest intensity of discussion around a risk and 0 indicates no discussion.
The normalized measures are relative in nature and allow comparison of the
intensity of discussions across topics as well as over time. When presenting
the results, financial, operational, and regulatory risks were grouped into
a ‘traditional risks’ category.
Accenture 2019 Global Risk Management Study Banking 32
Contact
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www.accenture.com/financeandrisk
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