As events show, the phrase ‘expect the unexpected’ is good advice. Over the past few years, there have been many events which we could not easily predict, yet in hindsight seemed inevitable – from large scale cyber attacks, data outages and supplier process failures, to disrupted commutes, terror incidents and extreme natural disasters. While there is no link between these occurrences, they typically have one thing in common. They have all, to varying degrees, disrupted financial services firms’ ability to provide their customers with an expected level of service.

The financial ecosystem is becoming more complex with greater outsourcing, more use of cloud computing and fintechs operating at more points within the value chain, all increasing the opportunities for disruption to services at the same time as enhanced expectations from customers and regulators alike. Operational resilience is the response to this.