At this year’s ERMC Global Leadership Meeting, our Risk Consulting Partner, Saghir Khan, joined senior leaders and CRO’s from across the financial services industry to discuss the challenges shaping risk. Four headline themes — resilience, capability, capacity and culture — continue to frame the conversation.
But what they mean in practice is changing.
Conversations are no longer focused purely on capital strength. Instead, they’re increasingly shaped by geopolitics, fast-moving customer led demand, and the challenge of managing risk across a highly interconnected operating model and ever increasing risk types.
This blog captures Saghir’s reflections from the event, highlighting the pressures CROs are facing, the questions being raised at board level, and what that might mean for risk priorities in the months ahead.
1. Familiar themes, reframed for volatility
The four key topics dominating discussion aren’t new, but the way CROs are thinking about them is.
>> Resilience is now being considered in terms of adaptability, not just Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity planning. In a fast-changing environment, being able to pivot matters more than ticking off predefined response steps.
>> Capability and capacity are being stretched by the pace of technology change, particularly where customer expectation is driving rapid adoption ahead of internal readiness.
>> Culture has become a central factor in risk oversight, especially when it comes to understanding how external partners, suppliers and internal teams will respond under pressure.
There is even more focus to break down silos as, invariably, risks functions are all interrelated.
2. Geopolitical uncertainty and de-dollarisation
Strategic risk was a recurring concern, with particular focus on geopolitical instability and the long-term implications of de-dollarisation.
This raises immediate questions about how macroeconomic shifts are incorporated into stress testing, risk appetites and early warning systems and, more importantly, the assumptions being made.
“Many CROs acknowledge that legacy frameworks need overhauling.” — Saghir Khan
There’s a growing push to be more imaginative regarding scenarios in that you can’t be bold enough. The focus should also be on emerging risks and not just the top risks.
3. AI adoption is being led by customers
Artificial intelligence was another hot topic but the tone of the conversation has changed. The pressure to adopt new technology isn’t just coming from within, it’s being driven by customers.
This is changing the pace and nature of AI implementation. CROs are being asked to support digital change programmes before governance frameworks are fully ready. The concern isn’t necessarily for the technology itself... It's whether oversight can keep up.
This highlights a bigger trend: risk frameworks need to be flexible and not just compliant.
“CROs are rethinking how governance can be embedded into a rapidly changing environment.” — Saghir Khan
4. Non-financial risk is now all about agility
Non-financial risks continue to worry CROs — particularly those tied to operational resilience. But the conversation has moved beyond traditional continuity and disaster recovery plans. While these remain important, they’re no longer seen as sufficient.
Instead, CROs are focused on how quickly firms can flex and adapt to disruption, especially when it stems from outside their core systems. Third-party supplier risk came up repeatedly. Whether through technology providers, outsourcing partners or cloud dependencies, firms are increasingly exposed to risk beyond their direct control.
It poses a big question: do we have enough visibility into our extended operations to trust in our resilience? And are the Regulators doing enough?
There’s also a mindset shift happening. Risk teams are recognising that agility—not just formality—is what will define a resilient response in future disruption scenarios. Interestingly, the basic discipline of planning, checklists, and constant practice continue to remain important.
5. Conversations on Liquidity are starting to overtake capital as a priority
What stood out, more interesting than unexpected, was the view among CROs that liquidity risk now deserves more attention from regulators than capital adequacy.
Most institutions' capital positions are confident, and many acknowledge that Basel frameworks and the work after the Great Financial Crisis have delivered real stability. However, liquidity exposures continue to be lower on regulators' priority lists than capital.
Run on Bank deposits remains a concern and can be quicker than assumed. This is prompting firms to reassess their prevailing assumptions.
Final thoughts
Saghir’s insights from the Global Leadership Meeting highlight how risk leadership is changing and growing in scope and demand. Resilience, capability, capacity, and culture may remain the pillars, but what they demand from CROs is changing fast, as is the role of the CRO.
Whether it’s staying ahead of geopolitical volatility, embedding governance into agile AI environments, or navigating basic banking concepts, CROs are being asked to lead with agility, foresight, and realism—all while the environment is ever more fluid!
Jaywing continues to partner with risk leaders across financial services, helping translate uncertainty into models, tools and frameworks that support confident decision-making in uncertain times.
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