Staying ahead of the game - safeguarding for the future

Looking forward to the end of the year, it is unfortunate to state that the Covid crisis is still a huge part of our lives, and with this comes the expanding impact on the global economy. True, a few sectors have done well under lockdown conditions but they have been the exception. It has been suggested that by the time this crisis is over, it could, through the destruction of the economy, cause much more harm to the financial system than the 2007 financial crisis, with talk of a V-shape recovery becoming muted. The future is somewhat unknown, and with no vaccine, the virus will continue to change the world we know.

The financial sector

One particular sector which has weathered the storm is banks and other financial intermediaries. They did this by being quick to react and adjust to the new business environment. An environment that requires more attention to liquidity management, conducting business over a long distance, and offering more time and support to their clients.

Brexit in the background

There is also no forgetting Brexit, rearing its head in the background of the pandemic. While we wait for a negotiated deal, the outlook is still concerning, as things will not be the same for most businesses moving forward. A new normal and a new kind of relationship with the EU requires a full-scale reassessment of risk. Banks and other financial intermediaries will need to upgrade their risk management systems, just like they did post the 2007 financial crisis. Like before, banks that stay ahead of the game will emerge as clear winners. 

Safeguarding for the future

• Risk - when the ceiling has been lowered on the revenue front, it makes sense for banks to focus their attention on risk, and to put in more efforts to minimise foreseeable loss. Among other things, banks will want to recalibrate their credit risk models, taking into account the varied impact of Covid on all the economic sectors.
• Credit quality - financial institutions will need to reassess the credit quality of their clients after they emerge from the crisis; paying particular attention to those in sectors that had been more exposed to the fall out. New data and assumptions will have to be incorporated into the model in order to determine EBITDA, free cash flow and costs.
• Technology - This will, of course, play an important role in risk management. Banks will employ new technologies to help manage operational risk, credit risk as well as market risk. If the 2007 crisis is any indication of things to come, a lot of hard work will have to be put into the management of credit and operational risks, employing new technologies to monitor banking operations, review data and reconfigure risk models.

Talent insight

For now and for a long time to come, talented risk managers and professionals are what banks will continually need - people with the right set of skills and experience. Unfortunately, the talent pool of risk managers has not been expanding in line with the new demand.

Over the past decade as regulatory demands were on the rise, becoming increasingly more complex, no meaningful efforts were made to attract more talented people into the field of risk management. This has led to a shortage of skilled risk managers even before the emergence of the pandemic. Given the urgency of our current climate banks will not have the time to train people and will need to recruit. This is where we come in, if you're a professional within risk, please get in touch now.