Risk Framework Design in Practice

A comprehensive and practical collection of tools and frameworks for risk governance at banks, insurance firms, asset managers, and other financial organizations

In Risk Framework Design in Practice: Getting Risk Governance and Limits Right for Financial Institutions, veteran portfolio and risk manager, Michelle Beck, delivers a robust and functional approach to risk governance that’s perfect for financial institution managers and executives. Beck skips the high-level bromides,  avoids narrowly considering only one type of asset class or financial institution, and instead offers practical guidance for leaders across the full scope of the industry seeking to answer critical risk management questions:

What types of risk limits are necessary? How many of them does my organization need? How should they be set? Are minimum regulatory standards sufficient to safeguard my company’s interests?

Risk Framework Design in Practice provides an effective structure for enterprise risk limits in different types of firms, including banks, asset managers, insurers, and corporate pensions. It explains how these types of firms should establish risk appetites, the essential pieces of their governance structures, and how to ensure the right information is in the right hands at the right times. It also includes:

• Deep dives into the relevant limits for market, credit, and operational risks, including the implications of using alternative methods
• Detailed discussions of contemporary approaches to limiting economic capital, value at risk, stress tests, exposures, liquidity, concentrations, stop-losses, and drawdown limits
• Approaches to operational risk that avoid the expensive trap of attempting to police business efficiency, and instead focus on control strength for truly dangerous risks

Risk Framework Design in Practice is an effective resource for chief risk officers and professionals working in enterprise risk departments at banks, broker dealers, insurance companies, asset managers, and hedge funds.  Also perfect for board members at banks and insurance companies, in-house counsel at financial firms, and bank and securities regulators.

MICHELLE McCARTHY BECK has nearly 40 years of experience as a derivative portfolio manager, risk manager, and chief risk officer in large banking, asset management, and insurance companies in the U.S. and Europe. Most recently, she served as a risk management expert at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.