Strategic, underwriting, cybersecurity, compliance, and interest rate risks lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) supervisory concerns in its Semiannual Risk Perspective for Fall 2015.  Released December 17, 2015, the report “addresses key issues facing banks, focusing on those that pose threats to the safety and soundness of banks and their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.”  The report notes among its conclusions that the risks associated with underwriting and cybersecurity are increasing, and while strategic, compliance, and interest rate risks remain stable, they too remain supervisory priorities for 2016.

The financial crisis made clear that interconnectedness and complexity have the potential to magnify localized shocks and amplify and transmit them to the greater financial system.  Understanding the risks posed by our ever more interconnected global financial system is crucial to managing those risks.  To that end, DTCC has published a whitepaper providing an overview of the subject, surveying a selection of interconnectedness studies conducted thus far, and highlighting regulatory measures designed to address interconnectedness risks. Among other things, DTCC concludes that “firms must do more than monitor and mitigate these risks – they also need to focus on building resiliency so they can detect potential systemic shocks before they strike or recover from them as quickly as possible.”