Wednesday 12 May 2010

Canada: governance at financial institutions

Ted Price, an assistant superintendent at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), delivered a speech earlier this week titled "Defining the New Agenda for Governance at Financial Institutions": see here (pdf).

The speech provides some useful insights into governance in Canada as well as the actions being taken by the OSFI with regard to governance, including the assessment of board directors and the functions of the board with regard to risk, about which Mr Price observed:

At OSFI, we believe that defining financial risk appetite is as important in an institution’s strategic planning as other production inputs, like budgets. It has been long accepted that major expenditures and budgets should be reviewed by the board, but when it comes to setting risk appetite, some boards have, incorrectly, abdicated that responsibility to management. We believe that boards have an essential oversight role in setting and limiting risk appetite in financial institutions".

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