Risk management and control

Key responsibilities

Excellence in risk management is fundamentally based upon a management team that makes risk identification and control critical components of its processes and plans. Responsibility therefore flows from the top.

The Board of Directors is responsible for the firm’s fundamental approach to risk, for approving our risk principles and for determining our risk capacity.

The Chairman’s Office oversees the risk profile of the firm on behalf of the Board of Directors and has ultimate authority for credit, market and other risk related matters.

The Group Executive Board (GEB) is responsible for implementing the risk principles, including approval of core risk policies, for appointing Business Group management that demonstrates both business and control competence, and for managing the risk profile of UBS as a whole.

The Group Chief Risk Officer (CRO) has overall responsibility for the development and implementation of the Group’s risk control principles, frameworks, limits and processes across market, credit and operational risk. Effective 1 March 2005, a new GEB position was established for the Group Chief Risk Officer. Together with the Group Chief Credit Officer (CCO) and the Group Head of Operational Risk, he formulates risk policies and determines methodologies for measurement and assessment of risk.

The Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible for transparency in the financial performance of UBS and its Business Groups, including high-quality and timely reporting and disclosure in line with regulatory requirements, corporate governance standards and global best practice. He is responsible for implementation of the risk control principles in the areas of capital management, liquidity, funding and tax.

The Group General Counsel is responsible for implementation of the risk control principles in the areas of legal and compliance.

Within the Business Groups, the control functions are empowered to enforce the risk principles and are responsible for the implementation of independent control processes.