Bank Accounting & Finance articles from April 2007

Bank Accounting & Finance archives from April 2007

Preparing for your next ALM exam or audit: review, documentation and model testing to prepare for an examination of model risk.(asset/liability management)
April 1, 2007... Ongoing validation of the asset/liability management (ALM) model and modeling process is an ever-growing challenge as the complexity of bank balance sheets continues to expand and the systems used to measure and manage risk become more...

Best practices for reducing model risk exposure: detailed steps to reduce model risk, from the perspective of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance, other regulation and business needs.
April 1, 2007... Several years of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) Section 404 compliance experience and new regulatory guidance now clearly define the mandates for asset/liability management (ALM) model risk management in financial institutions. The evidence...

Regulation FD: a refresher and update: the SEC has been active in the enforcement of Regulation FD in recent years.(fair disclosure, Securities and Exchange Commission )
April 1, 2007... Regulation FD of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was one of the legacies of Arthur Levitt, who served as chairman of the SEC from 1993 to 2001. He concluded that the SEC's Rule 10b-5, which had proven successful in addressing many...

Bank-owned life insurance: an investment perspective: what asset choices are available within the BOLI structure?(bank-owned life insurance)
April 1, 2007... The asset allocation decision is a complex one involving careful considerations of risk-and-return trade-offs. This balance-sheet structuring question is often posed as "what assets, in what amounts, should we allocate capital to support?" This...

Taking scorecards beyond theory: practical techniques for designing and implementing performance-based incentive plans.
April 1, 2007... * A star employee accused of misappropriating bank funds to open fake accounts and meet his incentive goals * A scorecard that encouraged salespeople to "[foist] unwanted financial products on customers, sometimes without their knowledge"...

Integrating risk, compliance and control for efficiency ... and effectiveness: suggestions for eliminating duplication of effort across risk, compliance and control functions.
April 1, 2007... Congressional, regulatory, media and investor scrutiny has intensified pressure on senior management and boards of directors to ensure that their organizations are building value and following sound business and ethical practices. A financial...

IT automation and integrated compliance: challenges of assuring compliance when myriad third-party vendors are involved.(information technology)
April 1, 2007... Financial organizations are subject to numerous regulations and standards, including Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLBA), Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and, in many cases, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS). Industry regulators are...

SEC and banking agencies adopt statement on structured finance transactions: the statement focuses on elevated-risk transactions that have been used illegally to misrepresent the financial condition of public companies to investors and regulators.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
April 1, 2007... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Securities and Exchange...

FCPA: what it is and why it matters to you: documentation and accounting controls are among the business practices covered by the foreign corrupt practices act.
April 1, 2007... The globalization of business puts every public company, private domestic concern and private equity/hedge fund in direct contact with a U.S. federal statute and, in many cases, with foreign laws as well that prohibit the offer, promise to pay,...