A stable, well-functioning financial market for allA stable, well-functioning financial market for allFI Supervision 18: Continuity management at banks
Many banks are working actively with continuity management and have implemented key measures to reduce the risk of serious disruptions. At the same time, FI sees a need for the banks to further strengthen their continuity management. FI expects the banks to continue to focus on enhancing the resilience of their critical functions. This supervision report describes the areas where FI would like to see improvements.
Many of the banks' products and services fulfil critical functions. Disruption could have a major impact on consumers. If the disruptions are serious and recurring, they could also lead to reduced confidence in the financial system and, in a worst-case scenario, threaten financial stability.
Greater digitalisation and globalisation combined with a change in consumer behaviour has made the infrastructure for the banks' services more complex. Many banks are making comprehensive changes to adapt their business and their service portfolio as the world around them changes. FI takes the position that this, at least in the short term, could lead to higher operational risks in the banks, with serious disruptions as one potential consequence.
In 2020, the impact of the new coronavirus has shown the importance of preparedness for scenarios that may seem improbable. The banks activated their crisis management a while ago, and they are regularly updating relevant scenarios and plans for the current situation. This work has functioned well in general, but the banks' ability to sustain this work in the long run remains to be evaluated. The report covers FI's supervision for 2018 and 2019 and does therefore not include the banks' continuity management during the pandemic in the spring of 2020.
