Agiliance Brings Out OCC Risk Management Guidance Content Pack

Agiliance, an independent provider of Integrated Risk Management solutions for Operational and Security programs, announced the release of the Agiliance Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Risk Management Guidance Content Pack.

According to a release, built around the OCC-issued Bulletin 2013- 29, "Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management Guidance", it provides national banks and federal savings associations the proper steps to manage and assess third-party risks.

In addition, Agiliance noted:

With their supply chain being targeted by cyber-attacks and advanced persistent threats, financial services organizations face increased operational, compliance, reputation, strategic, and credit risks when engaging in third-party relationships. These risks are being compounded by the growing volume, diversity, and complexity of these outsourcing arrangements. In response, the OCC advises financial services organizations to adopt risk management processes that match the potential threats posed by their third-party relationships, especially those that involve critical bank activities.The Agiliance OCC Risk Management Guidance Content Pack provides financial institutions supervised by the OCC with a framework to implement and maintain effective third-party risk management processes and internal controls. It helps minimize the risk of failing to conform to safe and sound banking practices and applicable laws, which could lead to formal enforcement actions and a downgrade of the institution's CAMELS score. The content pack covers all the necessary steps financial institutions need to take throughout the life cycle of managing third-party relationships, including:

-Planning;

-Due Diligence and Third-Party Selection;

-Contract Negotiation;

-Ongoing Monitoring;

-Termination;

-Oversight and Accountability;

-Documentation and Reporting;

-Independent Reviews; and

-Supervisory Reviews of Third-Party Relationships.

Using the Agiliance RiskVision assessment programs, workflow engine, and Common Control Framework, organizations can gather, score, and review control assessment results, identify control gaps, orchestrate remediation actions, and ultimately gain a holistic view into the institution's third-party risk posture.

"The new OCC guidance is just another example of new regulations emerging to address supply-chain risk and vendor management," said Torsten George, vice president of worldwide marketing and products at Agiliance. "The RiskVision OCC Risk Management Guidance Pack provides a consolidated set of controls that enables financial services organizations to easily assess their current risk posture and determine which areas they need to improve in order to lower risk factors with current vendors and during the selection process of new vendors."

More Information:

www.agiliance.com

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