New regulations and recent data breaches have elevated banks’ concerns about risk management, according to the Regulatory and Risk Management study by Wolters Kluwer released today. Overall, levels of concern among the more-than 600 respondents increased three percent from last year’s survey.
The number of banks concerned about their ability to manage risk across all lines of business spiked 13 percentage points from 2016 to land at 65 percent. Banks were also slightly more concerned this year about maintaining compliance in the face of changing regulations and keeping track of regulatory changes. Respondents noted that several key obstacles stand in the way of their ability to implement effective compliance programs, including inadequate staffing (46 percent), manual processes (39 percent) and too many priorities (34 percent).
Looking ahead to 2018, banks cited the new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rules as the “most pressing” compliance challenge they are likely to face. On the risk management side, the vast majority — 83 percent — said they intend to focus their efforts on cybersecurity, up from 70 percent in last year’s survey.
