Cyber could top the long list of risks

VIDEO | What if a cyber attack were to halt a central securities depository? While the audience of PostTrade 360° Stockholm, when polled, ranked geopolitical risk as the main issue keeping them awake at night, the senior panel in Stockholm perceives digital attack resilience as the main concern across the industry internationally. And if an attacker were to hit a central infrastructure, it could hurt the liquidity across whole markets.

In a Thursday morning session headlined “There’s a dangerous world out there”, three highly experienced representatives of the securities services community were on stage:

Panellists were …
Colin Parry, Chief Executive Officer, ISSA – International Securities Services Association,
Ross Whitehill, Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Murray, under moderation by
Göran Fors, Deputy Head of Investor Services with SEB, and also moderator for the conference day as a whole.

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News impacts people’s impression of risks a lot, so the answer could vary from week to week, Ross Whitehill pointed out. Cyber remains possibly the biggest concern, but it is important to remember the risks inside the organisation, not just outside:

“It’s a people risk. Operational risks, that’s us.”

His company Thomas Murray is an advisor for securities firms on questions including the selection of partners for securities services. With the margin pressure on these providers (also discussed by Colin Parry in his own keynote just before), clients need to evaluate how they are doing.

“Our customers don’t want to do business will someone who won’t be around.”

• News around PostTrade 360° Stockholm 2023, on 29–30 March, is gathered here.
• The conference info site, with detailed agenda, is here.
• For post-event access to recorded sessions, sign up here (where you can even log in easily by your LinkedIn account).
• By the way … are we connected on LinkedIn already, among the 2,900 post-trade pros who are? Follow us here.