By: Mike Horrocks
Earlier this week, my wife and I were discussing the dinner plans for Thanksgiving. The yams, cranberries, and pumpkin pies were purchased and the secret family recipes were pulled out of the cupboard. Everything was ready…we thought. Then the topic of the turkey was brought up. In the buzz of work, family, kids, etc., both of us had forgotten to get the turkey. We had each thought the other was covering this purchase and had scratched if off our respective lists. Our Thanksgiving dinner was at risk!
This made me think of what best practices from our industry could be utilized if I was going to mitigate risks and pull off the perfect dinner. So I pulled the page from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision that defines operational risk as “the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, systems or external events” and I have some suggestions that I think work for both your Thanksgiving dinner and for your existing loan portfolios.
First, let’s cover “inadequate or failed processes”. Clearly our shopping list process failed. But how are your portfolio management processes? Are they clearly documented and can they be implemented throughout the organization? Your processes should be as well communicated and documented as the “Smashed Yam Bake” recipe or you may be at risk.
Next, let focus on the “people and systems”. People make mistakes – learn from them, correct them, and try to get the “systems” to make it so there are fewer mistakes. For example, I don’t want the risk of letting the turkey cook too long, so I use a remote meat thermometer. Ok, it is a little geeky; however the turkey has come out perfect every year. What systems do you have in place to make your quarterly reviews of the portfolio more consistent and up to your standards?
Lastly, how do I mitigate those “external events”? Odds are I will be able to still get a turkey tonight. If not, I talked to a friend of mine who is a chef and I have the plans for a goose. How flexible are your operations and how accessible are you to the subject matter experts that can get you out of those situations? A solid risk management program takes into account unforeseen events and can make them into opportunities.
So as the Horrocks family gathered in Norman Rockwell like fashion this Thanksgiving, a moment of thanks was given to the folks on the Basel committee. Likewise in your next risk review, I hope you can give thanks for the minimized losses and mitigated risks. Otherwise, we will have one thing very much in common…our goose will be cooked.