WASHINGTON—Cybersecurity will be the top risk priority for most community banks over the next 18 months, with operational risk and compliance risk also high priorities, according to the ABA Banking Risk and Compliance Management 2023 Outlook survey.
The survey—conducted in 360factors—also polled banks on their compliance priorities. Most banks rank fair lending as a high compliance priority over the next 12 months, followed by cybersecurity and Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering compliance, the ABA Banking Journal reported.
Seventy-four percent of respondents identified cybersecurity as their top risk priority, compared to 64% for operational risk, the second highest-ranked priority.
“Cybersecurity has become so complex and dynamic that some banks now treat it as separate and distinct from operational risk. ABA SVP Ryan Rasske noted it is no longer enough for banks to educate employees on cybersecurity and fraud protection—they must educate customers as well,” ABA Banking Journal said.
“The bad guys have gotten so persistent at constantly figuring out new ways to get in,” he added.
The Findings
According to the report, bank executives were also asked about their top three strategic growth priorities over the next two to three years. Among the findings:
- 71% cited organic growth through regional expansion/branching
- 68% cited organic growth through new product development
- 59% pointed to profitability improvement and/or expense reduction
- 47% said growth through merger or acquisition of a bank
Going Low Tech
“However, when asked to identify the technologies used to provide data for decision-making regarding strategic growth initiatives, the answers skewed low-tech, with spreadsheets and Microsoft Word documents being the most common,” ABA Banking Journal noted.
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