Andrew Waxman
Associate PartnerAndrew Waxman is an associate partner in IBM Global Business Services' financial markets risk and compliance practice. He is the author of the
Andrew Waxman is an associate partner in IBM Global Business Services' financial markets risk and compliance practice. He is the author of the
With a heavy focus on the granular details of compliance, bankers and regulators might miss the big picture — not unlike New York City’s approach to fighting crime in the 1990s.
The world is divided into those who pursue popular decisions that are more likely to fail and those who go against the crowd and end up having the last laugh.
Narcissistic biases can lead us to favor those who look like us or have similar backgrounds or other common bonds. This inevitably affects the quality of hiring and risk management decisions.
In a world where confidence is rewarded more than indecision, businesses risk elevating confident leaders who overestimate their abilities. In banking, that can have harmful effects.
Firms need to evaluate risks ranging from hackers spreading false information about the bank to an executive’s inappropriate social media posts.
Illegal methods of moving money are just as likely to be low-tech and old school as high-tech and sophisticated. Surveillance methods and processes need to be able to counter both.
For all of the sophisticated ways criminals might try to launder money, banks still need to defend against low-tech methods that arent easy to track.
Institutions should define data "liabilities" and "assets" and represent them in a way that both touts data successes and is transparent about data gaps.
Using methods akin to fighting external hacking can also address risks of employees committing legal or ethical lapses.
A mature governance framework and risk culture that reaches all employees are among the attributes of a high-functioning "risk organization."