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Baker McKenzie partnered with Risk.net in its annual ranking of the top operational risks for 2022. The report is based on interviews and in-depth discussions with 100 chief risk officers, heads of operational risk and senior practitioners at financial institutions, including banks, insurers, asset managers and infrastructure providers.

The top ten risks identified for 2022 are:

  1. IT disruption
  2. Theft and fraud
  3. Talent risk
  4. Geopolitical risk
  5. Information security
  6. Resilience risk
  7. Third-party risk
  8. Conduct risk
  9. Climate risk
  10. Regulatory risk

IT disruption remains top consideration among risk practitioners in this year’s ranking. The two new entrants in this year’s list – talent risk and climate risk – represent a shift in organizational thinking as companies grapple with the current talent squeeze and the increasing focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

Completing the list are the same risks as last year’s, but in varying degrees of importance – geopolitical risk rises to fourth given recent developments. Other entries in the list such as resilience risk, conduct risk, and regulatory risk reflect current and emerging priorities as we transition to the post-pandemic economy.

Top Ten Ops Risks 2022

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Watch the video interview with Christoph Kurth, covering the key themes emerging from the Top 10 Op Risks 2022 survey and how financial institutions can better manage and mitigate the impact of operational risk in the months ahead. You can also read the editorial Q&A with Karen Man, “Emerging Trends in Op Risk,” where she discusses emerging op risks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rise in cyber attacks, concerns around conduct and culture, and the complexities of geopolitical risk.

Author

Christoph Kurth heads the Investigations, Compliance & Ethics practice of the Swiss offices. Further, he is a member of the EMEA Steering Committee Compliance & Investigations and co-leads the EMEA Financial Institutions Industry Group. He has been recognized by Legal 500 as a leading individual for compliance, regulatory and investigation matters. Before joining the Firm, Christoph was global head of Litigation & Investigations and general counsel in Asia for a large Swiss bank. For over 10 years, he has led complex regulatory and criminal investigations as well as high stakes litigation across the US, Europe and Asia, and has advised on transformational regulatory developments and wealth management products and services across Switzerland and Asia. In his roles, Christoph has worked closely with business leaders, government authorities and the media, navigating businesses through regulatory and other challenges. Prior to this, Christoph was a litigator in leading practices in Switzerland and the US. Christoph also teaches post-graduate courses in 'Crisis Management' and 'Risk Governance' at the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich.

Author

Karen Man is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Financial Services group, leading the non-contentious Financial Services Regulatory practice. Her clients include global, Chinese and local banks, fund managers, brokers/dealers, money service operators and fintech firms. Karen is admitted to practice in Hong Kong, the UK, and Australia.