Risk management tech skepticism on Wall Street

Risk management is a hot-button issue right now, the type that requires canned responses--duly vetted by the PR and IR folks--from all top executives. While many executives speak eloquently about the necessity of better risk management and the need for enhanced investment, there are plenty who are less than convinced that the industry has really changed.

One pundit experience a wave of skepticism while listening to Bank of America Merrill Lynch executive Jay Morreale (formerly the CTO of Merrill Lynch) discuss business intelligence at a conference. His question: "All the major banks and brokerage firms had risk models and decision-support technologies; so what confidence can we have in their proper use in the future given the mess we've all lived through?" You can read the answer for yourself. Does it strike you of the canned variety? It just might.

Technology is only half the issue when it comes to risk. The questioner has issues with the non-tech half. "I have no confidence that business leaders won't lapse back into bad habits once market stability returns." So should we have confidence that the risk technology--and we are seeing investment--has been deployed in a truly meaningful way? 

For more:
- here's the commentary in Enterprise Intelligence

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