Jacques Pezier () (ICMA Centre, University of Reading)
Abstract
We view risk management as an integral part of good management. Risk management should take a balanced view of decision problems encompassing all significant risks and rewards. Operational risks are only one type of risks and therefore are only one piece in the jigsaw puzzle that only makes sense when all pieces are assembled. All risk analyses are based on the same general principles – generation of alternatives, quantification of uncertainties and preferences, modeling of consequences – but factors deserving the most attention vary from problem to problem. We distinguish three broad types of operational risks according to the frequencies of loss events: nominal, ordinary and exceptional. Depending on the type, uncertainties are negligible, similar or very large compared to expected losses. Nominal risks are the province of Total Quality Management, a well-developed discipline, but perhaps better known in manufacturing than in financial services. The analysis of ordinary and exceptional risks is illustrated by case studies from which we draw general lessons. With ordinary risks, it is crucial to understand the interaction among risks and with costs and rewards; risks do not add up, indeed operational risks may sometime reduce other uncertainties. With exceptional risks, we show the importance of quantifying the risk attitude of a financial institution in order to arrive at rational decisions such as mitigation or transfer of risks.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Did you know? You can include your works in the database easily by uploading them on the Munich Personal RePEc Archive (MPRA) if you do not have access to an institutional RePEc archive.