BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 19. Banks need to move beyond assessing individual risks and analyze how different threats interact, accumulate, and affect the overall resilience of financial institutions, KPMG told Trend.
Mateusz Kuzioła, Partner Associate and Head of Banking Sector at KPMG Poland, made the remarks during the ABB Risk Forum 2026 in Baku, where he delivered a presentation titled “Emerging Risks: Risk Management in Times of Turbulence” on the challenges emerging risks pose to the banking sector.
“In times of turbulence, resilience is not about the ability to predict the future perfectly, but about withstanding uncertainty without losing control over what matters most: sound decision-making, financial and liquidity stability, business continuity, and customer trust.
“The next shock will be driven by multiple risk categories rather than a single factor. Uncertainty is not a temporary disruption but a defining feature of the banking environment. Resilience is a bank’s strategic capability, not a regulatory obligation or a cost of doing business,” he said.
According to the company, the presentation emphasized that effective risk management requires banks to look beyond individual threats, understand the interconnections between them, assess their combined impact, and strengthen resilience through scenario analysis, stress testing, and business continuity planning.
The presentation also examined how technological developments and external shocks can outpace the evolution of risk management and control systems, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud services, and critical digital infrastructure.
KPMG also stressed that effective risk management requires clearly defined responsibilities, reliable risk data, human oversight, and continuous monitoring. Coordination among the three lines of defense, together with cooperation with external stakeholders, also helps strengthen risk oversight and preparedness for potential threats.
Although traditional control mechanisms remain essential, they are not sufficient to address rapidly evolving and interconnected risks, the company noted.
“Scenario analysis of interconnected threats, liquidity stress testing, and business continuity exercises help banks assess potential consequences, prepare for adverse events, and strengthen their ability to maintain critical services,” the company said.
The ABB Risk Forum 2026 was held under the slogan “reTHINK RISK beyond the boundaries” and brought together more than 150 representatives of the financial services sector. Participants discussed emerging risks, geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, regulatory changes, artificial intelligence, cyber threats, and operational resilience.
KPMG was also represented at the event by Tomasz Kołodziejczyk, Partner Associate and Risk & Finance Advisory Leader at KPMG Poland; Roman Lesnikov, director of financial services at KPMG in the Caucasus and Central Asia; and Anuar Nurakhmetov, director of technology consulting at KPMG Azerbaijan.
