Consultancy Matters

Consultancy Matters LLC and VaudRisk agree collaboration on CEEMEA Training

consultancyadmin — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:46:49 +0000

Consultancy Matters LLC and VaudRisk are pleased to announce the signing of a collaboration agreement between the two firms which now creates a unique training and learning consultancy for financial services institutions in CEEMEA (Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa).

Consultancy Matters LLC is an integrated learning solutions firm based in New York and the UK, that provides exceptional learning and development advisory services to financial firms with a focus on risk and compliance. It supports its highly rated curriculum design with a multimedia approach to training delivery (from classroom through e-learning and simulations to coaching experiences).

VaudRisk has established itself as a key consulting and risk training firm in EMEA and is recognized for its comprehensive and experienced approach to remedial management, credit training and risk management training on an enterprise-wide basis.

“We are excited by this collaboration,” said Rudy Thomson, Founder and Managing Director of VaudRisk, “this will allow us to leverage our relationships in the CEEMEA region and introduce them to a more comprehensive and sophisticated array of learning services.”

“Linking up with VaudRisk will give us the opportunity to enter markets like Africa that we consider key to the ongoing growth and success of our firm,” added Keith Waitt, President and CEO of Consultancy Matters LLC, “this is an exciting chapter for us.”

For further information please contact: VaudRisk at info@vaudrisk.ch or Consultancy Matters LLC at info@consultancymatters.com.

We’re featured in Reward First Newsletter!

consultancyadmin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:08:28 +0000

My guest article for the UK-based Reward Consultancy newsletter, Reward First® People Consulting “Motivating bankers: Balancing a diet of risk and reward“ addresses the dilemma: if risk-taking achieves growth, how should we reward risk-taking activities? I welcome your responses!

Keith W. Waitt
President & CEO
Consultancy Matters LLC

Citi: Too Big To Control?

consultancyadmin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:22:56 +0000

Reducing the headcount is only treating the symptoms and not the cause of Citi’s problems. Mr. Corbat needs to have a radical think about the “Bank We Want to Be” and sell off or unwind businesses that really do not fit into today’s modern banking blueprint. His role as head of Citi Holdings, the bad bank of Citi, should put Corbat in a good position to make these tough calls. With Volcker, Basel III and other fun stuff on the way, now is the time to lead the market. Keep retail, keep mortgage, keep corporate. Keep the international network – the jewel in the crown that it has always been to Citi. But ditch the investment bank as this is the most risky, most volatile part of the bank (and they never were any good here anyway). It is also where most of the real problems have come from.

The new CEO has the chance to set new banking ground rules in line with the new regulatory direction. Above all, he needs to create a bank that is not “too big to control”.

Read the original article here at eFinancialCareers.

Keith W. Waitt
President & CEO
Consultancy Matters LLC

Risk Without Boundaries

consultancyadmin — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:57:05 +0000

This is an interesting article in the FT from the summer. In a global organization, how messages are interpreted based on national cultures. With respect to risk (not just in banking), cultural interpretation can be along a lengthy spectrum. While broad internal (and constant)communication goes a long way to overcome this, contextual factors play a large part.

The growth in enterprise risk management helps organizations put their risk strategy and appetite into context and builds the necessary structures, controls and governance around risk. But in order to overcome cultural interpretations of risk tolerance, the best way to create a common risk culture in a global organization (whether it’s a hotel chain or a banking conglomerate) is to have one, single strategic point of focus that resonates with everyone. For InterContinental Hotels, in this article, it may be to “champion our brands”. For any bank, it should be “to protect our reputation”.

Keith W. Waitt
President & CEO
Consultancy Matters LLC

Ina Drew’s London Whale

consultancyadmin — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:04:45 +0000

If you consider the differences between knowledge and wisdom… you begin to see that one gets you through the day/hour, while the other gets you through life/the situation. Wisdom always adds the benefit of context drawn from experience. I was reminded of this as I read the New York Times Magazine article of a couple of weeks ago, covering Ina Drew’s rise and fall at JPMorgan Chase.

Drew was very clearly suited for the job. Or was she?

She was noted for her loyalty to her managers, and to then Chairman, Jamie Dimon, and she engendered loyalty in her team. She was smart, no-nonsense style, a tough adversary, balanced, ethical and very well respected. She was a team player, known for sharing information only on a need-to-know basis. But above all, she had unparalleled experience and was accepted by all as the expert in her position as Chief Investment Officer. So how is it that all of her experience didn’t give her an understanding of how the silos and human dynamics of two transatlantic teams – Bond Traders in NY and a more sophisticated quant team that was flexing its muscle in London – could wield such a devastating blow to the Bank and her career.

Yes, her knowledge told her what to do and how to do it when her positions were long or short. But her fall from grace revolved around the intersections of human dynamics. How did she misread the desperation of a silo’d team in London who aspired to heights that ultimately would include her job. What caused her to trust thin explanations of hedging strategies and mounting risk? We all know that human dynamics are never straight forward. But predictability and caution should come with experience. Surely there are predictable alarms with every ego-driven but thwarted quest for greater recognition and power. Why didn’t she hear them? How did the overall context of the “London whale” scenario and the wisdom of her experience escape her?

Read the NYTimes article here.

Charlene Simpson
Chief Operating Officer
Consultancy Matters LLC

UBS Rogue Trader: The 3 C’s of Why This Will Never Go Away

consultancyadmin — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:47:55 +0000

When I saw this article on the BBC news site I almost forgot that it was a year ago when Adoboli was arrested, which itself was a year after Jerome Kerviel’s fun and games at Societe General, which was a year after Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of hedge fund Galleon Group was caught, which was a year after….. Get the picture?

Why will these scandals never go away? It would be obvious to respond by saying “because that’s where the money is”, as did Willie Sutton, the infamous US bank robber, who was asked why he robbed banks. Clearly there is an element of bees around a honey pot. But we are talking about internal robbers not external ones. Just as egregious and far more dangerous and damaging to the reputation of the bank itself. Am I right UBS?

In my view there are 3 good reasons why this will never go away and while these frequent scandals should no longer surprise the best of us.

Call it the 3 C’s:

Character: traders have egos; machismo; arrogance and a competitive impulse over everything they do. That is why they are recruited into dealing rooms.

That is why they succeed in this environment. Their DNA will push them to win at all costs.

Control: it has become clear that most banks are too complex to be able control all activities. If you want to cheat, you can find a way. Systems are not watertight (that is an understatement, right?), and people are infallible. Policies and procedures can go some way to create a framework but their assurance is proving tough.

Culture: no matter how many checks and balances a bank puts in place will address this issue, if the tone from the top is one of greed, making money at all costs, and treating the customers as “muppets”. The right culture for risk taking and ethical behavior that is reinforced at all levels of an organization, and supported at recruitment, creates the framework for the more formal controls.

Until banks understand this, then it will be difficult for the Chief Executives and Chief Risk Officers to be able to confirm to Regulators that this will never happen on their watch.

Keith W. Waitt
President & CEO
Consultancy Matters LLC

When will they learn to put customers first?

consultancyadmin — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:20:44 +0000

Excerpt from Mark Seider’s article on InvestmentNews, “The Regulatory Tightrope” -

“What is needed is forward-looking regulation that can level the playing field between Wall Street and Main Street, create appropriate incentive structures and penalty functions, and protect people from predatory practices. to foster sustainable economic growth while balancing proper regulation, regulators, policymakers and the banking sector must work together in a spirit of cooperation.”

They’ve got the right idea, but missing one big detail – the consumer. “Forward looking” regulation must mean the right regulation for the bank consumers – not the right regulation for the banks.

Read the full article here.

Keith W. Waitt
President & CEO
Consultancy Matters LLC

A Decent Man With a Decent Chance

consultancyadmin — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:16:39 +0000

For those of us that know Mr. Jenkins as friend or colleague (or an ex-colleague from our days at Citibank), this is exciting news and we must all wish him well in his new position. There is a lot that needs to be done at Barclays and changing the risk culture of the organization is one big task, but Antony is a decent guy and a great executive and he deserves a decent chance to succeed.

Keith W. Waitt
President & CEO
Consultancy Matters LLC

RiskMinds 2012 in Amsterdam!

consultancyadmin — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:35:51 +0000

Check out this recap of RiskMinds 2011 in Geneva and be sure to sign up here for this year’s RiskMinds 2012 in Amsterdam!

Tackling the causes, not the symptoms

consultancyadmin — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:49:56 +0000

In response to the recent Financial Times article, “Banks 20 Years Behind in Risk Management” , Keith writes:

These findings are no surprise to some of us who have been arguing that banks have spent the last 3 – 4 years trying to address the symptoms of their problems- and not the causes. Introducing “box ticking” processes, tightening policies, increasing (or introducing) training in risk management disciplines merely responds to the past problems and current regulations. It does nothing to address the future direction of banking and the ethical issues that continue almost unabated (Barclays, HSBC, Standard & Chartered).

The solution has to be to proactively focus on the risk culture of the organization and the inherent behaviors that have grown up as a result of inappropriate values and questionable executive vision. A better and balanced tone from the top, communicated correctly to all staff, reinforced throughout all the bank’s conduct, will go a long way to address the causes of our banking issues.

Keith W. Waitt
President & CEO
Consultancy Matters LLC