MICHELLE LEON | Managing Principal, Capco
CARL REPOLI | Managing Principal, Capco

Operational resilience has risen to the top of board agendas due to ever-increasing customer expectations and the ever-expanding threat landscape of digital disruption, cyber attacks, third-party risk, climate change, and geopolitical unrest. Boards and senior management of financial services firms are increasingly focused on reducing the likelihood and impact of disruptions to their business and customers, as well as on continuously delivering services when incidents occur. 

Moreover, regulatory scrutiny on resilience has intensified as the U.K. supervisory authorities, the U.S. agencies, and the Basel Committee have issued their expectations for improving the resilience of financial services firms. The current environment means that enterprise resilience is an imperative, not a choice. Organizations must approach operational resilience with a holistic strategy and enhanced competencies so that they can support their customers, protect their reputation, and remain competitive. 

This paper defines operational resilience, explains why adopting a resiliency lens is critical, and outlines the regulatory guidance on resilience. It also describes the steps that organizations should take to achieve and sustain operational resilience, including the set up and maintenance of an operational resilience program.