Risk management overhauls juggle speed and independence

Some banks say the 1.5 line of defence responds faster to risk, but supervisors are still divided

Like a good doctor, a good risk manager knows that prevention is better than cure. When banking crises blow up, risk management teams in the second line of defence have to cope with the fallout, but they may also lament poor decisions taken by the business lines, sometimes months or even years earlier.

“The structure can be built on the last crisis based on who owns the loss – who cleans up the mess and remediates,” says a chief risk officer (CRO) at a global bank.

That’s the motivation behind