Chinese banks to step up risk management

China's banking regulator has urged Chinese banks to set up an independent risk management system in line with its strategic expansion plan as part of efforts to ward off financial risks, says Xinhua Net.

The breakout of the global financial crisis highlighted the necessity of increasing management of differentiated sovereign risks, the China Banking Regulatory Commission says in its guidelines.

The guidelines note that just as Chinese banks were expanding throughout the world, the overseas risks they were facing were on the rise.

Market volatility and compliance with new regulations are forcing financial services firms to adopt quicker, more agile decision-making systems, reports Australian IT.

"Businesses don't have a choice," says SAS senior vice-president Jim Davis. "It's not possible to base business decision-making on old or incomplete data, or on gut instincts. Instead, we must use the best available data to support decision-making."

This follows the roll-out of the business intelligence company's solution for risk management that addresses capital optimisation, liquidity management, portfolio evaluation, stress testing, and scenario analysis.

Queensland's auditor-general has slammed the Australian government's handling of the health payroll debacle, saying the introduction of a new payroll system was marred by confusion and a failure to plan ahead, states The Brisbane Times.

Thousands of Queensland health workers were underpaid, overpaid or not paid at all after the department's payroll system was switched on in mid-March, angering doctors and nurses.

Auditor-general Glenn Poole outlined a litany of problems and says that “robust contingency plans and risk management strategies” should be put in place to deal with risks in the event of unexpected system issues.