The Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the importance of a pervasive geopolitical risk management framework for financial institutions (FIs), given the partly unexpected second and third order impacts many had to manage through. Market expectations of other potential geopolitical shifts have become elevated, and possible scenarios range widely. Regulation often follows such expectations.

As FIs have started to do for climate risk, the management of geopolitical risk requires a horizontal approach that spans across various vertical risk stripes that FIs usually manage themselves to. To date, progress on systematic management of geopolitical risks has been slow in Financial Services, and responses are often ad hoc through “crisis coordination rooms” once a geopolitical event actually occurs.

This short paper lays out six “no regrets” steps that FIs can take now to effectively integrate the management of geopolitical risks into their broader strategic planning and risk management.