How Serious Is the Threat of a Pandemic and What Are Bankers Doing About It?  (Download)

Review the results of RMA’s second Operational Risk Benchmarking Survey

How Serious is the Threat of a Pandemic and What Are Bankers Doing About It? presents the results from our April 2006 short survey on the level of concern among banks about a possible pandemic and their state of preparedness. One hundred ninety (190) RMA member and nonmember institutions took part, 168 from North America, 14 from Europe, and the balance from Asia, Australia, and Africa. The results were broken out by geographic area and asset size; respondents ranged from under $500 million in assets to over $10 billion.

This survey was based on information from a small sample of banks advanced in pandemic planning and from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Key Areas of the Survey

Reviewing the results of this survey will allow you to compare your planning assumptions and preparations about:

• The extent, severity, and duration of human and economic distress.
• The impact on your workforce and their way of working.
• Your stage in planning and your state of readiness.
• Your planning for the impact on your customers’ demand for services.
• Communications and communications plans.
• Policies and procedures for managing during a disruption.
• Coordination with the community at large.

Key Findings

Big North American banks, with assets in excess of $10bn, are taking the threat as seriously as anyone. Least concerned by far were banks with below $500mm in assets.

• Most banks expect disruptions to last three to nine months.
• Two thirds expect over 30% or more of their key workers to be absent during peak periods of disruption.
• Over 60% have identified someone to lead planning, but less than a third have rolled out plans and begun regular testing.
• Only a third or so of banks are well along in establishing policies for such things as employee compensation, evacuations, and reducing workplace transmission risk.

For information on pandemic planning, attend our Web seminar.