Risk & Resilience

A global technology outage caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses, and government offices on Friday. This incident highlighted the fragility of a digitized world dependent on a few key providers. At the heart of the massive disruption was CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to thousands of companies worldwide.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has launched a comprehensive initiative to tackle the twin threats of fentanyl trafficking and money laundering, highlighting the critical role of financial intelligence in combating these interconnected crises. This effort, part of the broader Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force led by the Treasury Department, aims to disrupt the financial networks fueling the devastating opioid epidemic across the United States.

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have unveiled a comprehensive set of policy products under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), marking a pivotal moment in the European Union's efforts to bolster the digital resilience of its financial sector. This extensive package, comprising technical standards and guidelines, represents a significant leap forward in harmonizing and strengthening the EU's approach to cybersecurity and operational risk management in finance.

Consider this example: one organization was spending 200 hours building a report for the board on risk events that have happened. All the information was trapped in spreadsheets that they had to aggregate, tabulate, and build this report from. Every year, another 200 hours—it now takes them a minute. The last year they did it this way, they found out they had risk issues that started eleven months back. That is not managing risk: that is reacting to it well after the fact.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu addressed the Financial Literacy and Education Commission's public meeting on July 10, 2024, emphasizing the critical role banks play in combating consumer financial fraud. Hsu's remarks highlighted the growing threat of fraud and the need for collaborative efforts to protect consumers and the financial system.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) released its annual Report on convergence of supervisory practices today, underscoring both achievements and areas needing improvement in the implementation of supervisory priorities across the EU for 2023.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) released its spring 2024 risk assessment report on July 2, highlighting elevated geopolitical risks and economic uncertainties facing EU/EEA banks. The comprehensive report, which for the first time combines the EBA's common risk assessment with analysis of banks' asset encumbrance and funding plans, paints a complex picture of the current banking landscape. This edition marks the resumption of the semi-annual publication of the Risk Assessment Report (RAR), following its common structure but also including the analysis of asset encumbrance and funding plan data, previously published in two separate reports.