The Rokel Commercial Bank has concluded its second quarter of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) training for staff in Freetown.
Considering the recent changing and competitive work environment, employees are eager for ongoing training that helps them stay up-to-date in their roles and make progress in their career as bankers.
This has been evident in the study conducted by Glint (employee management survey) noting that ongoing training and development is one of the top factors that employees say defines an exceptional work environment.
The bank’s extensive Training on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) for the second quarter of 2023 targeted various staff from different branches and departments in Freetown.
The course was facilitated by the Training Department of Rokel Commercial Bank in collaboration with Sigiay Group limited a consulting firm on the 3rd June, 2023.
This is part of the rigorous and incessant training programs of the bank in meeting the current challenges of the banking industry.
The center of discussion explained that risk includes the possibility of losing some investment or a threat due to failure in the key drivers of risks, that take cognizance of people, technology, processes, and external factors.
The key risks that banks face includes: Credit risk, Market risk, Capital and Liquidity risk, Legal and Compliance risk, Financial Crime, Conduct and Ethics risk, Reputational risk, Strategic risk, Business risk and Operational risk, and these can best be addressed when there is greater understanding of the risk universe of the bank.
The purpose of risk management in recent times is to either eliminate or reduces risks to minimum bearable level based on the risk appetite of the business; and this has been the primary focus of RCBank, and to minimize the potential negative consequence of risks by working with risk managers and employees that can make smart risk decisions to improve the chance of reward for the bank.
The content of the course structure emphasises the importance of risk management, as every bank and business unit face risks.
The preeminence and worthiness of risk management is not limited to, but captures that:
Every staff of the bank has a responsibility towards the management of risk.
Understanding and management of health and safety issues are critical parts of risk manager’s role.
Risk managers have roles to play in helping employees succeed with their set goals.
Risk management curtails unexpected events by appropriate mapping out of potential risks and devising approach to manage them.
Risk department should not just be seen as a cost center, but as value creation center through trend analyses that will assist in managing risks for loss minimisation.
By understanding the effective lines of communication, efficient and effective communication can be achieved by using either vertical or horizontal lines for report and analysis.
Identification, profiling and assessment of risks prevent reputational issues as most risks have reputational factors.
Strong risk management culture is better for all employees and related parties to the bank: from senior executives, executives, managers, employees and decision makers.
The current facilitators of the bank’s training center Mrs. Genevieve Bright and Olabumi Mackay-Lengor are very supportive and willing to work with both internal and external experts.
The Training Center of RCBank is considering risk management to be critical to the existence and survival of banks; given the recent challenges faced by financial institutions that are adversely affecting international and local businesses.
In the just concluded courses, staff have benefited and equipped themselves in the areas of Enterprise Risk Management, which specifically deals with risk identification, assessment, profiling, quantification, the likelihood of risk occurring, impacts of risks, and mitigation strategies of risk at all levels of the bank and departments.
Among the several objectives of the bank, this is one which the bank strives to maintain and to continuously be on the top stratum of the competitive space and in the maintenance of the training differentiation strategy.
Considerably, the goodwill and reputation of the bank is not only seen in the areas of meeting customers’ needs and satisfaction, but also in the areas of training, development, talent management, and building the competences of staff at the bank.
As businesses continuously face diverse risks and potential dangers, the bank’s ERM embraces the importance for units and departments of the bank to identify all risks they face as this will help management to decide how and when to manage risks based on their consequences and impact.
