A global survey of more than 250 financial institutions and regulators indicates that one-fifth of such organisations still have no formal operational risk programme in place, despite the advancing regulatory compliance schedule in the shape of the new Basel Capital Accord (Basel II). The results of the survey of medium and large financial institutions, conducted by Risk Waters Group and SAS, showed that 19% have not yet identified the best organisational framework for addressing operational risk. “It appears that the lack of a clear regulatory framework may be holding some organisations back. The draft of the Basel II Accord may spur those organisations into action,” said SAS UK’s Peyman Mestchian. “However, the most successful will be those that avoid the scattershot approach and view compliance as an opportunity to initiate an integrated and co-ordinated risk governance programme supported by a robust business case.”