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Fifth Annual Cass-Capco Risk Management Conference
April 19, 2012: Cass Business School, London, UK

The fifth annual conference of the Cass-Capco Institute on Risk brought together practitioners and academics to discuss how risk can be managed to lessen its impact on business and economic growth... Read More

Banking in the “Glocal” World
March 1, 2012: Zurich, Switzerland

Swiss Finance Institute and Capco Institute were pleased to present the Inaugural Annual conference of the SFI-Capco Institute Paper Series on Banking in Zurich, Switzerland. The conference brought together leading financial experts and scholars to discuss... Read More

Avoiding a Repeatable History

Using risk-based profitability to help ‘run the business’

Financial services companies should continue to enhance their risk-adjusted performance capabilities to compete effectively in the post-crisis economy. In this paper, we explore what organizations can do to avoid repeating the turmoil of the past few years by striking the right balance between risk and use of capital.

It’s easy to say that “tough times call for tough measures,” and by almost anyone’s definition, today’s business environment is tough. How often, though, does that familiar call to action lead to effective decisions or new thinking?

The most recent recession has been severe enough to reset consumer and business behaviors. The resulting “new normal” simply can’t be ignored. As a result, financial institutions must take a long, hard look at the reporting and measurement systems they use to help make strategic decisions, especially hard choices that may prove unpopular.

At Capco, we believe there is no better time than now to evaluate the steps needed to implement better risk mitigation metrics. As firms seek to elevate the role that risk mitigation plays, this paper outlines the key metrics firms should implement to improve their ability to judge the potential profitability of new products and services.

Too many firms, pursuing topline revenue growth initiatives to the exclusion of all else, learned too late just how important these measures can be. In our paper, “Avoiding a Repeatable History — Using Risk-based Profitability to Help ‘Run the Business,’” we explore what organizations can do to avoid repeating the turmoil of the past few years by striking the right balance between risk and use of capital.