Operational Risk Management: An Evolving Discipline

1 Operational Risk Management: An Evolving Discipline 4 Supervisory InsightsSummer 2006 Operational risk is not a new concept inthe banking industry. risks associatedwith Operational failures stemming fromevents such as processing errors, internaland external fraud, legal claims, andbusiness disruptions have existed atfinancial institutions since the inceptionof banking. As this article will discuss,one of the great challenges in systemati-cally managing these types of risks isthat Operational losses can be quitediverse in their nature and highly unpre-dictable in their overall financial impact.

2 Banks have traditionally relied onappropriate internal processes, auditprograms, insurance protection, andother risk management tools to counter-act various aspects of Operational tools remain of paramount impor-tance; however, growing complexity inthe banking industry, several large andwidely publicized Operational losses inrecent years, and a changing regulatorycapital regime have prompted bothbanks and banking supervisors toincreasingly view Operational riskmanagement (ORM) as an Evolving disci-pline.

3 Of particular note is the applica-tion of quantitative concepts, similar tothose used to measure credit and marketrisks, to the measurement of operationalrisk. This article provides an introduction tooperational risk, outlines the currentstate of ORM, and describes differentquantification approaches in this evolv-ing Risk DefinedThe definition of Operational riskcontinues to evolve, in part owing to itsscope. Before attempting to define theterm, it is essential to understand thatoperational risk is present in all activitiesof an organization.

4 As a result, some ofthe earliest practitioners defined opera-tional risk as every risk source that liesoutside the areas covered by market riskand credit risk. But this definition ofoperational risk includes several otherrisks (such as interest rate, liquidity, andstrategic risk) that banks manage anddoes not lend itself to the managementof Operational risk per se. As part of therevised Basel framework,1the BaselCommittee on Banking Supervision setforth the following definition: Operational riskis defined as therisk of loss resulting from inadequateor failed internal processes, people,and systems or from external definition includes legal risk, butexcludes strategic and the Basel Committee s definitionincludes what the Committee considersto be crucial elements, each bank s defi-nition for internal management purposesshould recognize its unique risk charac-teristics, including its size and sophistica-tion.

5 As well as the nature andcomplexity of its products and cooperation with industry partici-pants, the Basel Committee has identi-fied the seven Operational risk eventtypes, shown in Table Evolving BankingLandscapeThe Operational environment for manybanks has evolved dramatically in recentyears. Deregulation and globalization of1 Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee), International Convergence of Capital Measure-ment and Capital Standards(the revised Basel II framework), November 2005, Paragraph 644.

6 Available The event types and abbreviated examples presented in the table appear in the Basel Committee s Sound Practicesfor the management and Supervision of Operational Risk, Paragraph 5. Available at financial services, the proliferation of newand highly complex products, large-scaleacquisitions and mergers, and greater useof outsourcing arrangements have led toincreased Operational risk profiles formany institutions. Technologicaladvances, including growth in e-bankingtransactions, automation, and otherrelated business applications also presentnew and potentially heightened expo-sures from an Operational risk standpoint.

7 Available data support the idea thatbanks Operational environments aregetting riskier. Chart 1 depicts datagleaned from the 2004 Loss Data Collec-tion Exercise (LDCE)3conducted inpreparation for the implementationof the Basel II capital framework. Despitecertain inherent limitations in the data,such as differences in data availabilityamong the reporting banks and improve-ments in data capture methods over thecollection period, it appears that in aggre-gate loss amounts have increased sincecollection efforts began.

8 For example, 20participating banks reported operationallosses of $15 billion in 2004, surpassingthe previous high of $5 billion in lossesreported by 17 institutions in 2002. Losses associated with Operational riskevents can be large. Some well-knownexamples are the collapse of BaringsBank due to fraudulent trading and thesubstantial legal settlements entered intoby Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase withregard to the Enron and WorldCommatters. The business disruptions andfinancial impacts resulting from Hurri-cane Katrina and the September 11terrorist attacks also exemplify howmajor, unforeseen events can materiallyaffect a bank s operations.

9 5 Supervisory InsightsSummer 2006 Table 1 Event TypeExamplesLoss Event Types and Examples External fraudRobbery, forgery, and check kitingEmployment practicesand workplace safetyWorkers compensation and discrimination claims, violation ofemployee health and safety rules, and general liabilityClients, products, andbusiness practicesFiduciary breaches, misuse of confidential customer information,money laundering, and sale of unauthorized productsDamage to physicalassetsTerrorism, vandalism, earthquakes, fires, and floodsBusiness disruptionand system failuresHardware and software failures, telecommunication problems, and utility outagesExecution, delivery, andprocess managementData entry errors, collateral management failures, incomplete legaldocumentation, and vendor disputesInternal fraudEmployee theft, intentional misreporting of positions.

10 And insider trading on an employee s own account3 The 2004 LDCE was a voluntary survey that asked respondents to provide data on individual Operational lossesthrough June or September 2004 to enable the banking agencies to assess the potential impact of Basel II on capitalfor banking organizations. The results of the survey can be found at Additional information regarding the LDCEis at 6 Controlling Operational Risk Traditional ORM practices, which mostbanks employ today, rely on internalprocesses, audit programs, and insur-ance protection to counterbalance opera-tional risk.