Barclays 2008 Annual Report Download - page 79

1
Business review
Barclays PLC Annual Report 2008 77
Board
Group Finance Director
Group Chief Executive
Business Risk Directors
Business Heads
Divisional Chief Executive Officers
Internal Audit
Group Risk Director
Group Risk Heads
Retail Credit Risk Wholesale
Credit Risk
– Control and plan the taking and pricing of credit
risk based on clear and accurate assessments
– Support business decision-making and
pro-active identification of new risks
– Ensure a robust framework for the creation,
use and monitoring of credit risk models
– Capture, understand
and report the
operational risks being
taken by the Group
– On a cost-benefit basis,
minimise the frequency
and impact of operational
risk events
– Develop a clear profile
of financial crime risk
across the Group
– Share intelligence,
adopt common
standards and respond
promptly to emerging
issues
– Drive forward law
enforcement and other
government initiatives
– Maintain and develop
the Group’s economic
capital framework
– Prepare Risk Appetite
for the Board to
approve and track
– Conduct stress
testing exercises
– Co-ordinate Group Risk
input in the Group’s
medium-term planning
– Provide assurance on
each business’s
capital demand
–Ensure traded market
risk resides primarily
within Barclays
Capital, and minimise
non-traded market risk
– Understand and control
market risk by robust
measurement and
setting of position limits
–Facilitate business
growth within controlled
and transparent risk
management framework
Market Risk Operational Risk Financial Crime Risk Capital Demand
The Group Risk Director has overall day to day accountability for risk
management. Reporting to the Group Risk Director are Group Risk Heads
for Retail Credit Risk, Wholesale Credit Risk, Market Risk, Operational Risk,
Financial Crime Risk and Capital Demand. Along with their teams, they are
responsible for establishing a risk control framework and risk oversight at
Group level. This core team liaises with each business as part of the
monitoring and management processes.
Each business has an embedded risk management team reporting to a
Business Risk Director who reports to the Group Risk Director. The risk
management teams assist Group Risk in the formulation of Group Risk
policy and its implementation across the businesses.
Business risk teams are responsible for assisting Business Heads in
the identification and management of their business risk profiles and for
implementing appropriate controls. The functional coverage of risk
responsibilities is illustrated in the diagram below.
Internal Audit is responsible for the independent review of risk
management and the control environment.
To support risk taking, Barclays has continued to strengthen the
independent and specialised risk teams in each of its businesses, supported
by matching teams at Group level, acting in both a consultancy and
oversight capacity. As a prerequisite to business growth plans, it has made
the recruitment, development and retention of risk professionals a priority.