Operational resilience requires financial institutions to anticipate disruptions that could threaten the continuity of their critical business services (CBS).
For CBS-1 Retail Deposit & Account Services at Clarien Bank, identifying severe but plausible scenarios enables the bank to evaluate how extreme yet realistic events could disrupt account services, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and customer account management.
These scenarios represent conditions that could arise from technology failures, cyber incidents, third-party outages, operational errors, or regulatory disruptions.
Integrating Cyber and ICT risk considerations ensures that technology-driven disruptions—such as cyberattacks, infrastructure outages, or digital channel failures—are incorporated into resilience planning.
The following table outlines recommended severe yet plausible scenarios, along with potential impacts and proactive risk management measures.
Table P5: Identify Severe but Plausible Scenarios for CBS-1
|
Sub-CBS Code |
Sub-CBS |
Severe but Plausible Scenario |
Impact / Effect |
Proactive Risk Management Action |
Link to Integration of Cyber and ICT Risks |
|
1.1 |
Customer Onboarding & Account Opening |
Digital onboarding platform outage due to cloud service disruption |
Customers unable to open new accounts; onboarding backlog |
Implement alternate manual onboarding procedures and DR failover for onboarding systems |
ICT infrastructure resilience, cloud provider outage management |
|
1.2 |
Customer Identity Verification & Compliance Screening |
Failure of the KYC/AML screening system due to vendor system outage |
Delayed customer verification; regulatory compliance risk |
Maintain secondary compliance screening provider and manual verification process |
Third-party cyber resilience and vendor system security |
|
1.3 |
Account Setup & Product Configuration |
Core banking configuration error during system upgrade |
Incorrect account setup or delayed activation |
Pre-deployment testing, configuration control and rollback procedures |
Change management and application security controls |
|
1.4 |
Deposit Processing (Cash, Cheque, Electronic) |
Cheque clearing network disruption or payment network outage |
Deposits not processed or delayed; liquidity concerns for customers |
Alternative clearing arrangements and transaction queuing mechanisms |
Payment network cybersecurity and ICT infrastructure monitoring |
|
1.5 |
Withdrawal & Funds Access |
ATM network outage due to a cyberattack or telecom failure |
Customers unable to withdraw funds; reputational impact |
ATM network redundancy and cash withdrawal fallback through branch channels |
ATM cybersecurity monitoring and telecom resilience |
|
1.6 |
Internal & External Account Transfers |
Payment gateway or SWIFT connectivity disruption |
Delayed or failed transfers; customer complaints |
Implement alternate payment routing and transaction retry logic |
Secure network connectivity and payment messaging protection |
|
1.7 |
Digital Banking Access Management |
Authentication platform compromised by credential-stuffing attack |
Customers locked out or fraudulent access attempts |
Deploy multi-factor authentication, anomaly detection, and account lockout controls |
Identity and access management cybersecurity integration |
|
1.8 |
Payment & Bill Payment Processing |
Bill payment aggregator outage due to a cyber incident |
Customers are unable to pay bills; payment deadlines are missed |
Establish multiple payment aggregators and backup payment channels |
Third-party ICT resilience and API security monitoring |
|
1.9 |
Debit Card Issuance & Transaction Processing |
Card processor service disruption affecting POS transactions |
Customers are unable to complete card payments |
Maintain alternate card processing capability and transaction authorisation fallback |
Card network cybersecurity and transaction monitoring |
|
1.10 |
Account Monitoring & Fraud Detection |
Fraud monitoring system failure during a high-volume transaction period |
Increased fraud exposure and delayed detection |
Deploy redundant fraud monitoring engines and real-time alert escalation |
Security analytics and cyber threat monitoring integration |
|
1.11 |
Transaction Posting & Account Ledger Update |
Core banking database corruption after system crash |
Incorrect balances or delayed transaction posting |
Automated data integrity checks and database recovery procedures |
Data integrity protection and database security controls |
|
1.12 |
Customer Notification & Statement Generation |
The messaging platform outage is preventing alerts and statements |
Customers are unaware of transactions; reduced transparency |
Implement secondary messaging platform and batch notification fallback |
ICT communication platform resilience |
|
1.13 |
Exception Handling & Dispute Management |
The case management system is unavailable due to a ransomware attack |
Delayed investigation of disputes; customer dissatisfaction |
Maintain offline case tracking procedures and secure backup systems |
Cyber incident response and ransomware recovery |
|
1.14 |
Reconciliation & Financial Control |
Settlement reconciliation system failure during end-of-day processing |
Financial reporting discrepancies; operational delays |
Implement automated reconciliation validation and manual reconciliation capability |
Financial system security and operational monitoring |
|
1.15 |
Regulatory Reporting & Compliance Monitoring |
Regulatory reporting platform compromised, or data unavailable |
Missed regulatory submission deadlines |
Maintain secure regulatory reporting backup systems and contingency reporting procedures |
Data protection and regulatory system cybersecurity |
|
1.16 |
Business Continuity & Account Services Recovery |
Data centre outage due to a natural disaster or a major cyber incident |
Retail deposit services unavailable for an extended period |
Activate DR site, failover core banking, and execute continuity recovery plans |
DR infrastructure resilience and cyber-incident recovery integration |
Identifying Severe but Plausible Scenarios for CBS-1: Core Deposit & Account Services enables Clarien Bank to rigorously test its resilience posture against high-impact, realistic disruptions.
These scenarios ensure that the bank moves beyond theoretical risk assessment to practical stress-testing of operational capabilities.
By integrating cybersecurity, ICT resilience, third-party risk management, and governance controls into scenario planning, CB strengthens its ability to anticipate, withstand, and recover from operational shocks.
This structured identification of SbP scenarios supports regulatory compliance, safeguards customer interests, and reinforces confidence in the bank’s core deposit and payment services—ensuring sustainable operational resilience in an increasingly digital and interconnected banking environment.
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