Report Summary
To assess the progress and shortcomings of financial institutions in meeting new regulatory requirements the Economist Intelligence Unit polled 350 senior-level executives at financial services firms in March 2013. The survey, sponsored by Protiviti, posed questions about their firms risk management defenses before and after the crisis. Most respondents hailed from Western Europe and North America, with the bulk of the remainder in the Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe. Those polled represent the main financial industry sub-sectors, with about half in banking, nearly one quarter in insurance and the balance in capital markets and private investment funds. The survey finds that just a small minority of respondents rate their risk management systems as fundamentally sound over the crisis. Yet increased regulatory pressure ranks as their greatest risk management priority. Survey results also single out actions taken since the crisis to shore up risk management defenses, and obstacles that impede such efforts, including resource shortages. But, respondents noted, compliance brings many benefits including better operational efficiency and customer assurance.
