Board and Risk Committee Effectiveness in Banks Training Course

Programme Summary

Board and risk committee effectiveness in banks is the subject of this five-day training course for directors, risk heads and compliance leaders at a strategic level, ending in an effectiveness plan for one board and its risk committee. Banks depend on boards that can set risk appetite, test what management reports and obtain independent assurance, yet committee papers often arrive too thin for challenge. The programme moves from board mandate, through risk governance and assurance, to remuneration and disclosure, then to a worked plan. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in board and risk committee effectiveness in banks.

The Business Case

When a board cannot challenge risk information, weak limits, unmanaged conflicts and misaligned incentives stay hidden until losses appear. Directors who set clear limits and demand independent assurance can correct problems earlier.

• Risk Exposure: Falls as appetite limits are set, monitored and escalated through a defined committee path.
• Control Failures: Surface earlier when compliance and internal audit report to the board.
• Incentive Risk: Reduces as pay is linked to risk outcomes and conflicts are recorded.

Principles and Evidence Base

• Basel Committee Corporate Governance Principles for Banks: Its thirteen principles structure Sessions 1 to 4.
• Board committee structure: The audit, risk and remuneration committees it expects of systemically important banks shape Session 1.
• Independent control functions: Its principles for risk, compliance and internal audit shape Session 3.
• Risk-aligned remuneration: Its principle that pay reflects risk outcomes guides Session 4.

Intended Participants

• Directors who oversee strategy, risk appetite and management performance.
• Risk leaders who report to a board risk committee.
• Compliance and internal audit leaders who give independent assurance to the board.
• Company secretaries who prepare board cycles, charters and disclosures.

The programme serves commercial banks, insurers, development lenders and investment firms.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate the mandate, composition and committee structure of a bank board against recognised principles.
2. Participants will be able to construct a risk appetite statement with limits, triggers and escalation routes.
3. Participants will be able to diagnose weaknesses in risk reporting, data quality and stress testing information.
4. Participants will be able to appraise the independence and reporting lines of risk, compliance and internal audit functions.
5. Participants will be able to justify a remuneration and culture review that links incentives to risk outcomes.
6. Participants will be able to prioritise the actions in an effectiveness plan for a board and its risk committee.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Board Mandate and Committee Structure

What must a bank board own, and what may it delegate to a committee?

• Basel Committee Board Responsibility Principle
• Board and Management Accountability Map
• Board Composition and Skills Matrix
• Conflict of Interest and Related-Party Register
• Committee Charter Design Review

Day 2: Risk Governance and Risk Appetite

How does a board set risk limits and know that they are respected?

• Risk Appetite Statement Anatomy
• Chief Risk Officer Authority and Board Access
• Risk Identification and Stress Testing Review
• Risk Data Quality and Board Reporting Pack
• Three Lines Responsibility Matrix

Day 3: Independent Assurance and Group Oversight

How does a committee obtain assurance it can rely on?

• Audit Committee Oversight Plan
• Compliance Function Independence Test
• Internal Audit Reporting Line Review
• Escalation Pathway Design
• Group and Subsidiary Oversight Map

Day 4: Remuneration, Culture and Disclosure

Do incentives, culture and public statements support the risk strategy?

• Risk-Adjusted Remuneration Design
• Incentive and Risk Outcome Review
• Risk Culture Indicator Set
• Governance Disclosure Content Review
• Supervisory Dialogue Preparation Note

Day 5: Applying Board and Risk Committee Effectiveness in One Bank

Is the effectiveness plan ready for a board to adopt?

• Applying the Session 1 Charter Review to the Chosen Bank
• Testing the Session 2 Risk Appetite Against Board Reports
• Matching the Session 3 Assurance Map to Escalation Paths
• Checking the Session 4 Remuneration and Disclosure Review
• Completing the Board and Risk Committee Effectiveness Plan

Methodology

The programme is built around case analysis. Participants work in small boards, taking the roles of chair, risk committee chair and chief risk officer, and test anonymised committee papers from banking and insurance as a director would.

• Suggested activity: Marking up a risk committee pack to list the questions a director should ask.
• Suggested activity: Redrafting a risk appetite statement so every limit has an owner.
• Suggested activity: Reviewing a pay scheme for incentives that reward unmanaged risk.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes an effectiveness plan for one board and its risk committee. It holds a charter review, a risk appetite statement, an assurance map, a pay and culture review and an action list. The plan is used to brief the chair and guide the next board evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is board and risk committee effectiveness in banks suitable for people who are not risk specialists?

Yes. Board and risk committee effectiveness in banks is set at strategic level and assumes you read board papers, not that you hold a risk qualification.

Which standard does board and risk committee effectiveness in banks rest on in this training?

Board and risk committee effectiveness in banks rests on the Basel Committee Corporate Governance Principles for Banks, covering board, risk, control, pay and disclosure.

How is the plan from board and risk committee effectiveness in banks used at work?

You use the effectiveness plan to brief the chair, redraft committee charters and risk appetite limits, and set priorities for the next board evaluation.

How does board and risk committee effectiveness in banks differ from a programme on internal audit practice?

Board and risk committee effectiveness in banks centres on how directors set limits and challenge reports, while an internal audit programme centres on how auditors perform assurance work.