[OR] [BDCB] [E2] [C1] Overview of Operational Resilience Planning Methodology

Chapter 1

The Brunei Darussalam Central Bank’s Operational Resilience Planning Methodology

Introduction

Operational resilience is increasingly recognised as one of the defining priorities for financial institutions worldwide, particularly for central banks that safeguard the integrity and stability of national financial systems.

For the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB), this responsibility is magnified by its mandate to ensure monetary stability, maintain the soundness of financial institutions, and safeguard the robustness of payment and settlement systems.

Disruptions—whether triggered by technological failures, cyberattacks, natural disasters, or pandemics—can have cascading effects across the financial sector and the broader economy.

Hence, operational resilience for BDCB is not only about continuity; it is about ensuring confidence, trust, and stability in Brunei Darussalam’s financial ecosystem.

To fulfil this mandate, BDCB has developed a three-phase Operational Resilience Planning Methodology—Plan, Implement, and Sustain. These phases provide a clear, structured pathway for the Bank to evaluate its current state, address capability gaps, embed resilience across its critical business services, and foster a culture of preparedness.

The methodology reflects both global best practices and the specific needs of Brunei Darussalam’s financial environment, ensuring that resilience is systematically embedded into governance, operations, and long-term strategy.

By embedding resilience principles into its organisational framework, BDCB ensures that critical business services can continue to operate even under severe but plausible scenarios, thereby reinforcing public confidence in the financial system.

Overview of the Three Phases

Phase 1: Plan

The Plan phase lays the foundation of the entire methodology by establishing clarity on BDCB’s current state of resilience, identifying gaps, and setting a clear direction for future enhancements. This phase includes five stages:

1. Assess Capability and Maturity – evaluating the bank’s existing resilience practices and benchmarking them against recognised standards.
2. Analyse Gap – identifying areas where current capabilities fall short of resilience requirements.
3. Develop Strategy and Roadmap – formulating a structured plan to bridge resilience gaps while aligning with regulatory expectations.
4. Confirm Risk Appetite – determining the level of disruption the bank is willing to tolerate while fulfilling its mandate.
5. Develop and Embed Governance – establishing robust oversight and accountability structures to ensure effective implementation.

Together, these stages provide BDCB with a solid strategic and governance framework for operational resilience.

Phase 2: Implement

The Implement phase translates strategy into practice by operationalising resilience measures across the bank’s critical services and functions.

This phase ensures that BDCB not only has a resilience framework but also embeds it into day-to-day operations. The five stages are:

1. Identify Critical Business Services – determining which services are vital to financial system stability and public confidence.
2. Map Processes and Resources – linking critical services to supporting processes, systems, and third-party dependencies.
3. Set Impact Tolerance – defining acceptable levels of disruption and recovery timeframes for each service.
4. Conduct Scenario Testing – testing resilience under severe but plausible disruption scenarios to validate preparedness.
5. Improve Lessons Learnt – capturing insights from testing and real events to refine resilience measures continuously.

This phase ensures that resilience is actionable, measurable, and aligned with BDCB’s responsibilities as the central bank of Brunei Darussalam.

Phase 3: Sustain

The Sustain phase emphasises embedding resilience into the culture, communication practices, and oversight mechanisms of the Central Bank.

It recognises that resilience is not a one-time effort but a continuous commitment requiring strong governance, leadership engagement, and workforce awareness. The five stages are:

1. Introduce Cultural Change – fostering an organisational mindset that values resilience as part of daily operations.
2. Develop a Communication Strategy – ensuring transparent communication with stakeholders during disruptions.
3. Implement Training and Awareness – building staff capability and resilience knowledge through structured learning.
4. Provide Self-assessment – enabling internal reviews to measure progress against resilience objectives.
5. Conduct Independent Quality Review – engaging third-party or independent assessments to provide assurance and identify areas of improvement.

Through this phase, resilience becomes an enduring feature of BDCB’s operations, ensuring long-term sustainability and adaptability in an evolving financial landscape.

Summing Up ...

The three phases of Plan, Implement, and Sustain form a comprehensive methodology that equips the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank with the structure and discipline to safeguard its critical functions.

Each phase builds upon the other, ensuring that resilience is not only strategically designed but also operationally tested and culturally embedded.

For BDCB, this methodology ensures preparedness against disruption, strengthens confidence in the financial system, and upholds its mandate as the guardian of Brunei Darussalam’s monetary and financial stability.

	Operational Resilience in Practice: The Brunei Darussalam Central Bank Approach
	Implementing Operational Resilience for Brunei Darussalam Central Bank

OR Planning Methodology Phases		Plan	Implement	Sustain

Gain Competency: For organisations looking to accelerate their journey, BCM Institute’s training and certification programs, including the OR-5000 Operational Resilience Expert Implementer course, provide in-depth insights and practical toolkits for effectively embedding this model.

 

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