BIS Paper Analyzes Operational and Cyber Risks in Financial Sector
BIS published a working paper that uses a unique cross-country dataset at the loss event level to document the evolution and characteristics of the operational risk of banks. The paper highlights that better supervision is associated with lower operational losses. It also provides an estimate of losses due to cyber events, which constitute a subset of operational loss events. Cyber losses are a small fraction of total operational losses, but can account for a significant share of total operational value-at-risk.
Representing a significant portion of total bank risks, operational risks are second only to credit risks as a source of losses. Thus, measuring and understanding operational risks, including cyber risks, is critical for both banks and public authorities. The paper uses a unique cross-country dataset from ORX, which is a consortium of financial institutions. The sample contains over 700,000 operational loss events from 2002 until the end of 2017 for a group of 74 large banks with headquarters worldwide. The granularity of the dataset allowed the authors to study the evolution of operational risks through time, compute an operational and cyber value-at-risk for financial intermediaries, document the time lag between occurrence, discovery and recognition of losses, and investigate the link between operational losses, macroeconomic conditions, and regulatory characteristics.
The results of the study show that, after a spike following the Great Financial Crisis, operational losses have fallen in recent years. The spike was largely due to losses arising from improper business practices in large banks that were incurred in the run-up to the crisis but recognized only later. Operational value-at-risk can vary substantially across banks—from 6% to 12% of total gross income—depending on the method used. These numbers are consistent with the actual capital requirements, but notably smaller than the basic indicator approach. The results provide some support for the shift to the standardized approach in Basel III.
The analysis shows that it takes, on average, more than a year for operational losses to be discovered and recognized in the books. However, there is significant variation across regions and event types. For instance, improper business practices and internal fraud events take longer to be discovered. Operational losses are not independent of macroeconomic conditions and regulatory characteristics. The paper shows that credit booms and periods of excessively accommodative monetary policy are followed by larger operational losses. Furthermore, it is to be noted that a higher quality of financial regulation and supervision is also associated with lower cyber losses. Despite representing a relatively minor share of operational losses, cyber losses can account for up to a third of total operational value-at-risk.
Related Links
Keywords: International, Banking, Operational Risk, Value-at-Risk, Cyber Risk, Standardized Approach, Research, BIS
Featured Experts
María Cañamero
Skilled market researcher; growth strategist; successful go-to-market campaign developer
Nicolas Degruson
Works with financial institutions, regulatory experts, business analysts, product managers, and software engineers to drive regulatory solutions across the globe.
Patrycja Oleksza
Applies proficiency and knowledge to regulatory capital and reporting analysis and coordinates business and product strategies in the banking technology area
Previous Article
ISDA Updates List of Derivative Instruments Subject to Margin RulesRelated Articles
BIS and BoE Launch Innovation Hub in London
BIS and BoE launched the BIS Innovation Hub Center in London, which is the fourth new Innovation Hub Centre to be opened in the past two years.
ESRB Recommends Reciprocation of Certain Macroprudential Measures
ESRB published recommendations on the reciprocation of macro-prudential measures in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.
EC Publishes Regulation on Key Aspects of Implementation of SA-CCR
EC published the Delegated Regulation 2021/931, which supplements the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR or Regulation 575/2013) with regard to the regulatory technical standards specifying the method for identifying derivative transactions with one or more than one material risk driver.
BCBS Consults on Prudential Treatment of Cryptoasset Exposures
BCBS is consulting on preliminary proposals for the prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures of banks.
EBA Revises List of Validation Rules for Reporting
EBA issued a revised list of validation rules under the implementing technical standards on supervisory reporting.
Banking Authorities and Private Sector Collaborate on Wholesale CBDC
BIS Innovation Hub, BDF, and SNB announced that, together with a private-sector consortium led by Accenture, they will conduct an experiment using wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) for cross-border settlement.
ESAs Publish Amended Implementing Standards on Mapping of ECAIs
ESAs published two amended implementing technical standards on the mapping of credit assessments of External Credit Assessment Institutions (ECAIs).
EBA Revises Guidelines on Major Incident Reporting Under PSD2
EBA published revised guidelines on major incident reporting under the Payment Service Directive (PSD2).
BCBS Updates Supporting Information for G-SIB Assessment in June 2021
BCBS updated the year-end and annual average exchange rates in context of the global systemically important bank (G-SIB) assessment exercise.
HKMA Revises Implementation Timeline for Basel Standards
HKMA issued a circular informing the industry about its intention to revise the target effective dates for the revised frameworks on credit risk, operational risk, output floor, leverage ratio, market risk, and credit valuation adjustment risk.
