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German
English
German
Challenges
Banks have to conform to ever more and ever tighter regulation, deal with an unceasingly difficult market environment, and grapple with rapid technological change – and finance and risk departments find themselves at the eye of that storm. Executives responsible for finance, risk and compliance at banks and insurance companies are dealing with three parallel external upheavals that are forcing them to face up to a string of internal challenges.
Insights
Top priority for banking executives is to stay in command of the regulatory agenda. Finance, risk and compliance chiefs have to understand the effects of looming regulatory initiatives on their institution. They have to be able to simulate the impact of regulatory changes, and as a result define and manage often highly complex changes to the organisation and its portfolio.
This means finance, risk and compliance departments have to be in a position to ensure that not infrequently scarce capital, underpowered balance sheets, and limited liquidity are managed well. Effective allocation of resources demands that executives stay on top of credit, market, liquidity and operational risks - as well as new forms like cyber risk. Only extremely sound and up-to-the-minute measurement gives them a chance of doing so.
This need for new tools is forcing finance, risk and compliance executives to balance cost pressure against the demands of new external and internal requirements. Executives can only achieve this by defining new target operating models and the components – including new technologies – they need to set a new agenda in finance, risk and compliance.
Solutions
zeb’s Finance & Risk (F&R) practice advises financial services institutions within all fields of the F&R organization covering risk control, compliance, financial control, accounting, regulatory reporting, treasury and data management. More than 400 specialized zeb consultants and 30 dedicated F&R researchers provide services in the following areas:
1. Risk Control & Methodology
zeb has profound experience in helping clients to define their risk appetite, risk strategy and risk governance. We help our clients to introduce comprehensive risk assessment – for stress testing, economic scenario analysis, and measuring the adequacy of capital and liquidity – and risk-measurement tools – to identify and quantify, counterparty, market, liquidity and non-financial risk. Our expansive portfolio also includes methods for better risk reporting, more precise limits on risk exposure, and more sensitive early-warning systems.
2. Compliance
zeb helps clients to design systems that enable them to get to know their customers in the most rounded way. This allows financial institutions to better protect their customers – and helps banks and insurance companies to fight money laundering and terrorist financing more effectively. zeb helps financial services companies to design new operating models for compliance – thanks to better control frameworks and efficient processes – and to license applications or permits and advisory services in continental Europe.
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3. Financial Control & Strategic Planning
[Integrated financial resource management
Balance sheet modelling and management
Management accounting and performance control
Strategic planning and budgeting: process design and solutions
Cost accounting and cost management
Reporting solutions
Funds transfer pricing methodology
Finance target operating model design]
4. Financial Accounting
[Implementation of new requirements/standards (IFRS9, prudent valuation, FINREP)
Hedge accounting
Fair-value calculation for financial instruments
Multi-GAAP]
5. Regulatory Reporting
[Regulatory monitoring and quantitative impact studies (QIS)
Design and implementation of regulatory reporting requirements (CoRep, FinRep, EU directives)
Supervisory relations and reviews (preparation and support of supervisory audits/assessments)]
6. Treasury & ALM
[Treasury strategy and mandate
Banking book and NII management
Liquidity management and optimal funding strategy
Investment management and asset allocation
Treasury solutions (zeb.control and/or third-party solutions)
Treasury target operating model design]
7. Data Strategy and Data Quality Management
[Business information modelling and data warehousing
Data quality management and data governance
Implementation of BCBS #239 requirements and D2-readiness
Big data analytics and monetisation]
8. F&R Information Services
[Monitoring of regulatory initiatives and maintenance of zeb’s EU regulatory radar
Benchmarking of peer-group performance/risk indicators and headcount
Outside-in scenario analysis and impact analysis
Publications and studies]
