On 20 September 2021, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a newsletter calling on banks to improve their resilience to cyber threats. In the newsletter the Basel Committee reminds firms and institutions that remote working arrangements and increased provision of financial services using digital channels have enlarged banks’ attack surfaces. The Basel Committee also refers to two documents that it has issued relating to operational risk and operational resilience: the revised Principles for the Sound Management of Operational Risk (PSMOR) and the Principles for Operational Resilience (POR).

The Basel Committee believes that it is important for all banking authorities to encourage the institutions they oversee to adopt tools, effective practices and frameworks, including provisions for testing their efficacy, for cyber risk management that are aligned with widely accepted industry standards. Adopting such approaches will allow banks to better identify, assess, manage and mitigate their exposures to cyber risks, including those arising from third-party service providers. This will foster greater resilience to cyber threats and incidents in furtherance of the PSMOR and POR.

The Basel Committee has also issued a press release. Aside from mentioning the newsletter the press release refers to a meeting on 15 and 20 September where the Basel Committee took stock of the work on climate-related financial risks and efforts to develop a common set of global sustainability standards. Also discussed at the meeting was the impact of the digitalisation of finance on the banking system.

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