Managing a bank can be difficult, but the government has you covered on what to look out for when it comes to security. Since you are in charge of people’s lives, there is a certain expectation by the government and your customers that you will protect that information with the best technology and systems afforded to you. Compliance means passing a test for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), so to help you prepare for your FDIC exam, here are a few of the major points you should study up on and prepare for.
Determining Risk
The FDIC exam focuses on finding the biggest possible risk to an institution, if there is one, and assessing if the institution is well suited to dealing with any problems that could arise in the future. This factors in the risk management system in place and how effective it would be down the road, how it could be improved or exploited, and if there are any further plans in the works that could be used in case this one fails. Failsafes are checked, weaknesses are probed, and everything is graded accordingly. The consumer comes first, so if anything seems like it could be harmful to their livelihood, the grade will be adjusted accordingly.
Board and Management Oversight
The exam looks at the system as a whole to see if there is anything that could trip up the company in the near and far future. The examiner considers the company’s commitment to its established compliance management system, the resources dedicated to said system, and third party oversight committed towards it success in the event of a breach. They also test to see if you have determined threats emerging from within or without the company and how you could potentially work towards preparing or fixing these flaws in the future.
Compliance Program
The next section takes a look at the compliance program itself and how it is utilized in the business model. They will see if the policies in place are too much or too little to the problems that could be presented to the business along with the reliability of third parties in the protection of the companies assets. They will determine how much training has been put forward so far and if there should be more, and they will see if the consumer response program is as fast and effective as it should be. The compliance program is the framework of the threat response should security come under attack or data be threatened, so this should be as solid and well thought out as possible.
Compliance Examiner
He or she isn’t there to make life hard on you, they are there to make sure that you are doing everything possible to protect your customers. Their identity and finances are in your hands, so you need to be prepared for the worst to come and always be evolving with your threats. They will determine what works and what doesn’t and help you figure out ways to improve, but will also grade you on your preparedness. Don’t rely on them to give you all the answers. You should already know what you’re doing at this point, and that’s what they expect from you. Do what you can to make your business safe and it will show in the results.