PIMA forum on ‘Demystifying risk myopia in digital disruption in financial services’ today

The PIM Alumni Association, the professionals’ association of the prestigious Postgraduate Institute of Management, affiliated with the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, will hold a forum titled ‘Demystifying risk myopia in digital disruption in the finance industry’ from 5.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. at Hotel Kingsbury, Colombo.

The forum will have two keynotes, the first one by HNB Deputy General Manager - Risk and Chief Risk Officer Damith Pallewatte and the second by CICRA Holdings Group Director and CEO Boshan Dayaratne. The duo will join Commercial Bank Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director Sanath Manatunge and Dialog Axiata Plc Digital Services Vice President Fariq Cader for a panel discussion moderated by Daily FT Editor Nisthar Cassim.

Organisers said that driven by an evolving need to excel, the future of banking was constantly being disrupted by outstanding digital innovations and technologies. Along with these innovations come certain cyber risks and challenges that can hinder financial success. 

Pallewatte in his keynote will focus on a host of issues including the evolving job role of CRO/CISO - Digital and Mobile proficiencies – Is it a bubble?, Levitation or fortification – stretching the spectrum of risk coverage, Role congruence of IT, Risk & Audit – technology overload and Cloud. What really matters; How ready are we for adopting Crypto Currency and Block Chain – Reality, Practicality and Current state- Is it here to stay?; Is Regulator ready - BASEL III & IFRS 9. What should we lobby for?

In his keynote, Dayaratne will focus on some of the recent case studies of major cyber attacks and data breaches related to the banking and finance industry; Cyber risks involved in digital transformation; Vulnerabilities vs. risk owners; Insider threat; Regulatory compliance vs. security; Cyber security best practices and future technologies and their security implications.

PIMA said digital technology with mobile and online banking has revolutionised the financial services industry. Payment platforms have evolved beyond innovation. Fintec firms are also entering the core banking value chain diminishing barriers to entry into the banking sector. On the other hand, block chain and crypto currencies are making part of banking obsolete. 

Whilst all these changes are taking place and coming closer to us day by day, banking on the other hand is becoming less reliable. Banks are getting continuously hacked and money has been siphoned out fraudulently. Data breaches are on the rise and payment and settlement systems show insecurity. The effective life of fraud control measures is getting shorter and shorter. Banking is increasingly becoming reactive and it is spending an enormous amount of money to protect itself. The power of the smartphone has aggravated digital disruption. Smartphones have become a multi-functional touch point. In the banking sector there are real disruptions and there are ‘superfast followers’. Anyone of them can be a digital winner provided they manage associated risk proactively. Value to data and information assets have assumed a much higher value than ever before. 

However, whilst all these innovations happen there are certain pertinent questions that need to be answered among risk managers to transform risk management functions to a future-ready state. 

The forum will address some of these pressing and future challenges via the expert panel.

It will be PIMA’s first Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Program for the year. It aims to attract the senior and middle management of the banking industry as well as others who are keen to keep abreast with the latest developments and challenges when it comes to digital disruption.

The members of PIMA are professionals who have completed their Master’s and doctoral studies at the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM). 

PIMA claims to have the largest number of professionals in the country, with over 2,000 active members who hold an MBA, MPA and PhD from the institute, many of whom hold senior managerial positions both at private and public sector organisations.

For registration call Kumara on 0768243457 or Andrew on 0768243459.