Collector Bank – How a holistic approach to internal governance reduces risk and increases the efficiency of the organization

Collector is a Nordic niche bank that offers financial solutions for individuals and companies. To ensure compliance and efficiency in daily operations and at the same time facilitate business development, Collector has developed a new model for internal governance together with FCG, now Advisense. By taking a holistic approach and creating a stable, sustainable infrastructure, Collector has established a way of working that facilitates business development, reduces involuntary risk-taking in the business, increases efficiency and improves the ability to focus on the right things.

The Challenge

Internal governance is a wide area that affects the entire business of a company. Meanwhile, the financial industry is surrounded by comprehensive regulations with a great impact on operations. Subsequently, the changes in the regulations then often become the starting point for internal governance initiatives, as they are a consequence of the changes. There can be several challenges to approaching the internal governance work with that starting point, as every effort takes time and resources, with the risk of disrupting daily operations.

Managing every change individually can also become unnecessarily demanding over time. The same applies to the risks of a negative impact on operational efficiency. Finally, there is also the risk that a “regulation-driven” internal resource ensures good compliance with rules but does not include actions that can create other values and opportunities for the business. Collector decided to change this and take a new comprehensive approach around the company’s view of and work with internal governance.

The Solution

The development of a new and long-term sustainable model for internal governance has been divided into several stages, and FCG has worked with Collector all the way from strategy to implementation. An initial gap analysis was carried out to shed light on the business from both a governance, risk and compliance perspective. Subsequently, the potential for improvement was identified in different areas in relation to the effort, after which a list of measures was produced, and priorities were decided. The implementation of decided measures has taken place in close collaboration between Collector and FCG’s consultants within finance, legal, compliance and risk management. FCG´s consultants have previous experience both from financial institutions and the Swedish Financial Services Authority (”Finansinspektionen”) a mix of competencies that has been relevant for the outcome i.e. pragmatic and business oriented solutions in line with regulatory requirements.

The Results

The new model is built to support the business based on both current and future needs, increasing durability. A more solid framework keeps the individual initiatives together and creates a better overview, which also facilitates business development

The new internal governance model clarifies roles and functions, which increases efficiency and the ability to focus on the right efforts. The model also reduces the risks of unnecessary disruptions in daily operations in connection with changes, driven either by the regulations or the business.

With a stable infrastructure in place, it is easier to ensure compliance in connection with regulatory changes. A better overview, clearer routines and better tools to follow-up reduce the risk of involuntary risk-taking in Collector’s business.