[container section_title=’Container’ fullwidth=’no’ bgtransparency=’0′ top=’20’ bottom=’20’ innerbottomshadowsize=’0′ bordertop=’0′ borderbottom=’0′ collapse=’false’][column type=’12’ last=’1′][title size=’2′ fontfamily=’Muli’ google_font=’Muli’ textcolor=’#993366′ fontweight=’400′ th_height=’10’ th_margintop=’5′ th_bgtransparency=’0′ th_bgpattern=’3′ animation=’default’]Recommendations for the Business Continuity of Banks During a Pandemic[/title][text google_font=’Muli’ transparency=’0′ animation=’default’]
Introduction
A pandemic is a very particular type of crisis, with potentially devastating effects both from a human and an economic point of view.
Unlike other crises affecting a bank’s infrastructure, such as earthquakes or cyber attacks, pandemics have a direct impact on people – employees and suppliers in particular – who may not be able to carry out in part or in part. all your work.
In a pandemic, even customers of a bank are made difficult to carry out all the usual banking operations, such as: going to the branch, having financial advice and assistance, withdrawing money, etc.
Unlike other crises, such as those resulting from technological failures or threats to security, for which there is a reasonable expectation of resolution within a certain period of time, the duration of a pandemic is in itself indeterminable, and in any case destined to last for a long time; its severity is therefore brutal and strongly impacts banking activities, making any forecast on normalization times uncertain and difficult.
Preparation for a pandemic should therefore start long before the pandemic itself appears on the horizon. However, in the event that the bank has not been able to prepare for a pandemic crisis, there are still some procedures that can be adopted to deal with it.
The information contained herein is a collection of best practices, which, given the unpredictable nature of the pandemics and the affected area, cannot be all-inclusive. All of this information are prepared for banks in the Turkish banking system but they are also valid banks around the world.
It is therefore necessary to adapt the recommendations to both the concrete situation and the specific circumstances of the bank.
Why Do Banks Need A Specific Plan For Pandemics ?
Banks are a fundamental part of a company’s infrastructure and functioning. Any interruption of the banking system, even partial or temporary, can create serious consequences for the population and the economy as a whole, as well as for the bank itself.
A pandemic can have a big impact on different aspects of a bank’s operations: the distribution of cash to branches and ATMs, the negotiation of checks, the management of credit concessions, as well as all the other services that depend on the people who work. at the bank; even the same ordinary functions of the branches are made more difficult and, in borderline cases, also entirely prevented. A pandemic may also affect other sectors on which banks depend, such as telecommunications, IT, and transport, with a damaging, albeit indirect, effect on the bank’s activities.
For all this, a bank must have an extremely detailed plan for the management of pandemics, which includes and describes all possible contingencies, together with the processes and procedures that the bank must adopt promptly to respond and contain the pandemic crisis, limiting where possible the damage. The existence of a plan and the rapid application of crisis management procedures can greatly help a bank to minimize the negative effects of the pandemic on people and operations.
The Criticalities That May Impact Banks During A Pandemic
We list some potential problems that the bank must consider, both before and during and also after a pandemic has occurred in the bank’s operating territory (local, national or international).
Of course there are also others, but the following is a certainly recurring list of critical situations that the bank must consider in a crisis management plan.
- Shortage and / or unavailability of staff, due to travel bans by local authorities, illness, etc.
- Increase in the use of ATMs for withdrawals, check payments and other activities
- Unexpected withdrawals of cash sums from branches due to panic
- Increased use of internet banking and possible interruptions of regular use
- Increased use by customers of banking / mobile banking / call center services
- Increased need for remote access and telecommuting employees for long periods
- Increased requests from customers to grant credit to face financial difficulties
- Delay in payments and increase in bank defaults
- Increase in fraud and phishing attempts by third party criminals
- Greater need for services and supplies for cleaning and sanitizing bank premises
- Possibility of closing the premises open to the public for days, weeks or months
Conduct of Banking Operations During A Pandemic
During a pandemic it becomes impossible to do business in the ordinary way. The bank’s daily operations suffer serious interference, up to the limit of total impediment, and it is therefore necessary to identify and prioritize those functions deemed essential over those that are not essential.
We recommend that you carefully identify and map all bank functions. It is surprising to discover the vastness of ordinary services and activities that banks have to perform on a daily basis. It is therefore necessary, if not vital, to identify and map also the roles and key people in each function, and their interdependencies, in order to establish the priorities of the essential functions and procedures, to guarantee adequate personnel and resources to the continuity of banking operations deemed essential for the bank.
For example, during a pandemic, the acquisition of new customers or the promotion of new products are no longer a priority; as instead it becomes that of retaining and reassuring current customers. Banks should plan and reformulate assets consequently. It also becomes probable that staff are required to perform functions differently than normal duties. If sub regulation allows it, the bank must also evaluate the temporary changes in roles and activities in order to make the bank more dynamic and agile in facing the evolution of the crisis.
The Main Challenges for a Bank During a Pandemic
With the rapid expansion of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the extremely tight response times allowed, the main challenges facing a bank are:
- Quickly guarantee the health and safety of employees, customers and suppliers
- Ensure that the bank can continue to provide the services deemed essential for an indefinite period of time and with a significant and proactive control of the problem of absenteeism, of illnesses and in any case of the unavailability of employees
- Understand that there may be cases in which customers are facing innocent financial difficulties, providing extraordinary short and long-term aid and extension instruments (suspension of loan installments, extension of payment deadlines, new credit concessions, etc.)
- Planning for the recovery of a normal operation
A. To Guarantee The Health And Safety Of Employees, Customers And Suppliers
During a pandemic, it is necessary to implement measures that allow the continuity of the bank’s essential operations, avoiding contact, where possible, or reducing the opportunities for contact to the bare minimum, and this both between the staff, and between the staff and customers or suppliers, for indefinite and unpredictable periods of time during the crisis.
Some practical measures that can be implemented quickly are:
- Redirect customers from branch access to online or telephone banking services. It is necessary to stimulate and invite customers (with generalized emails, telephone calls from managers or other forms applicable from time to time) to predominantly use the bank’s digital tools and any other resources available for self-service banking and online access banking relationships (which by their nature are available 24/7)
- Configure and advertise a web page to provide specific information on the Coronavirus and the changes made necessary in the relationship with the bank.
- Reduce the operating hours of branches and offices, both for those open to the public and for those reserved for bank staff only
- Use the means of teleconferencing and video conferencing for meetings, even for people in the same venue
- Allow employees to work from home or from alternative sites
- Implement restrictions on visitor and supplier access to banking facilities
- Implement travel bans for employees
- Apply quarantine for sick staff
- Define the office hygiene and sanitization procedures in the event that an employee shows signs of infection with the virus
- Monitor and predict frequent sanitization of ATM screens and keyboards
- Remove writing tools, magazines and newspapers shared by common areas, such as reception / reception areas, waiting areas, kitchens, break rooms, etc. (the virus survives for many hours on objects)
- Install plastic or other barriers for counter staff and for those who need to interact with the public
- Install sanitizing gel dispensers in all areas used by customers within the branch and in internal areas for employees
- Rearrange the arrangement of desks and furniture to allow greater distance between employees, and between employees and customers or suppliers
- Ensure regular disinfection of sensitive areas such as: handles, desk / table tops, branch counters, reception and furniture areas, cash registers, photocopiers, elevator buttons, various office equipment (calculators, printers, shredders, faxes, binders and franking machines), keyboards, telephones, vending machines for drinks and food, refrigerators, water dispensers or fountains, etc.).
B. Ensure That the Bank Can Continue to Provide Essential Services
One of the most important aspects to consider when planning a bank’s response and management of a pandemic is that absenteeism or otherwise the unavailability of staff can increase significantly, and this due to illness of employees or family members , closure of schools that force the employee to stay at home, fear of going to the workplace, etc. The bank must also provide for the possibility that employees may hold strikes to protest the bank’s decision to keep certain branches active.
With a potential shortage of staff, with the decline in branch activities and a reduction in human interaction in general, the use of technology plays an extremely important role. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the network systems and the telecommunications structure are able to withstand and manage a significant increase in the volume of computer and telephone traffic.
Some practical measures to consider for the human aspect are:
- Identify which jobs and tasks can, or cannot, be performed even partially, without being physically present in an office
- Ensure that employees know how to use the various hardware and software dedicated to working remotely
- Provide a telephone line dedicated to problems and doubts that remote employees can contact to solve hardware and software problems
- Be prepared for a high absence rate and prepare backup plans for staff and key functions in case of unavailability of some
- Cross-train employees and ensure that replacement plans for essential tasks are in place
- Establish a plan on how to react in the event of an employee showing signs of contagion or getting sick in the office
- Inform and continuously update both employees and customers and suppliers (for the respective areas of interest) of the new procedures and any changes in the bank’s operations
Some practical measures to consider for technical aspects are:
- Ensure that the main suppliers are able to maintain and ensure supplies and critical processes for the continuation of the bank’s operations
- Establish adequate data protection procedures, including periodic backups also of terminals used remotely by employees and officials
- Check the technology used for remote access of employees and officials and verify the need to increase capacity and bandwidth and secure authentication mechanisms
- Assess and manage the information security risks associated with staff accessing sensitive information outside the bank’s secure environment
- Assess the technical and operational implications in the event that a bank location needs to be closed
- Check the ability of networks to manage the increase in computer traffic
- Ensure that the bank’s telecommunications facility is able to handle the increase in call volume
C. Understand That Some Customers May Be Finding With Financial Difficulties
Whether deserved or not, banks have a bad reputation for being exclusively interested in financial profits and not the well-being of customers. In consideration of the economic crisis that results from a pandemic, and the impact it has on the whole population, a bank must encourage customers who may have been financially affected to contact their contact persons to discuss how the bank may consider the particular situation and be of help. A bank survives and thrives only if its customers also survive. This is why the bank must, even in its own interest, work closely with customers to help them in an exceptional crisis situation.
D. Planning for the Recovery of a Normal Operation
During a pandemic, normalization appears uncertain and distant, but the crisis will eventually be overcome. The bank must therefore prepare for a return to normal already during the crisis. A plan should therefore be drawn up to address the following aspects:
- Massively clean and sanitize all bank facilities and work areas
- Monitor employee health and maintain a healthy working environment
- Reopen the facilities, work areas and areas accessible to customers
- Keep the protocols active for adequate social distancing (between employees and between them and customers) and periodic and constant long-term sanitization
- Complete all the bureaucratic and maintenance activities that could not be carried out during the crisis
- Inform staff, customers, suppliers and regulators of these efforts
Conclusions
During a pandemic, infinite problems arise, both human and technical. Banks must quickly adopt strategies and processes to allow the continuity of operations, without interrupting critical and essential services, while ensuring the health and safety of their employees, customers and suppliers.
In a pandemic, technology plays an essential role in business continuity, and it is important to ensure that IT systems have the ability to manage larger and unexpected volumes. Banks must also take into account the implications of the crisis on structures, systems and procedures in order to easily allocate the resources necessary for operations deemed critical.
More importantly: banks must understand that the health and well-being of their customers, employees, suppliers and their communities is their top priority. The pandemic will eventually pass. The way the bank replies will be remembered for a long and long time.
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