[OR] [UOB] [E1] [C5] Identifying Critical Business Services

eBook 1: Chapter 5

Critical Business Services of UOB Malaysia in Operational Resilience

Introduction

In the context of operational resilience, a Critical Business Service (CBS) is defined as a service provided by the organisation — or by another party on its behalf — to one or more clients, where disruption could cause intolerable harm to the clients, or pose a risk to the soundness, stability, or resilience of the financial sector and its markets.

For a regulated financial institution such as UOB Malaysia, identifying CBS is fundamental to designing resilience measures that ensure the continuity of essential services during disruptive events while meeting regulatory expectations regarding safety and soundness. 

These services support the bank’s mission to serve retail, corporate, and institutional clients and serve as the basis for mapping dependencies, setting impact tolerances, and testing resilience capabilities.

Purpose of This Chapter

This chapter aims to clarify the definition of Critical Business Services (CBS) in the context of UOB Malaysia, a regulated financial institution operating in a highly interconnected and customer-centric environment.

Before any meaningful operational resilience work can begin, organisations must be clear about which externally delivered services are most critical, particularly those whose disruption could result in intolerable harm to customers, regulatory breaches, or financial instability.

By reading this chapter, the reader is expected to gain clarity on how CBS is identified for a banking institution, why these services are prioritised in an operational resilience programme, and how they differ from internal processes or supporting functions.

This chapter lays the foundation for subsequent activities, such as dependency mapping, impact tolerance setting, and scenario testing, ensuring that the reader approaches these steps with a service-centric, customer-outcome-focused mindset.

Banking Services as Critical Business Services

UOB Malaysia offers a comprehensive portfolio of financial and banking services, which can broadly be grouped into key external-facing services that must be prioritised under an operational resilience program:

Retail and Personal Banking Services

• Deposit and Savings Accounts – Collection and safeguarding of customer funds, and enabling basic deposit/withdrawal activities.

• Debit and Credit Card Services – Transactions, payments, and credit access for individual customers.

• Digital Banking Platforms (UOB TMRW, Personal Internet Banking) – Online access to account management, payments, fund transfers, and other services provided digitally.

These services are critical because their disruption directly affects customers’ ability to access and manage their financial resources, potentially causing customer detriment and reputational harm.

Commercial and Business Banking Services

• Business Accounts and Cash Management – Accounts and operational banking functions for SMEs and business clients.

• Trade and Foreign Exchange Solutions (via UOB Infinity) – Support for international trade financing, foreign exchange, receivables/payables management, and related services.

• Digital Business Banking (UOB SME App / Infinity) – Real-time transactional services, cashflow insights, and digital banking capabilities for corporate customers.

These functions are critical as they support economic activity and liquidity flows for business customers. Interruptions can significantly disrupt clients' business operations and cash management.

Wholesale and Corporate Banking Services

These services cater to large corporate clients and institutional investors, including:

• Corporate Lending and Financing Solutions

• Sukuk and Structured Fundraising Support (e.g., capital markets advisory, issuance facilitation)

• Treasury and Market Services

Corporate services underwrite business investment and capital adequacy for enterprises. Disruptions here can materially affect customer projects, financial stability, and market confidence.

Wealth and Privilege Banking

• Wealth Management and Advisory Services – Tailored investment solutions and financial planning.

• Privilege Banking Services – Dedicated services for premium customer segments.

Although these may generate revenue and reputation value, their categorisation as critical should be based on comprehensive impact analysis relative to customer harm, regulatory expectations, and systemic significance.

Digital and Support Services Underpinning CBS

To ensure delivery of CBS, UOB Malaysia depends on multiple digital and operational services — these underpin the bank’s ability to deliver front-line services:

• Digital Platforms and Mobile Banking Infrastructure (TMRW, Internet Banking, SME App)

• Payment and Clearing Systems

• Security and Fraud Prevention Systems

• Transactional Messaging and Alerts

Disruption of these systems directly undermines CBS delivery. For example, extended downtime in digital banking may deprive customers of access to funds and payment services, constituting intolerable harm.

Methodology for Identifying CBS

In implementing an operational resilience program for UOB Malaysia, critical business services should be identified using structured steps:

1. Define scope and objectives — Align with enterprise risk appetite and regulatory expectations.

2. Conduct Business Services Impact Analysis (BSIA) — Assess the impact of disruptions on customers, internal operations, regulatory compliance, and financial markets.

3. Engage stakeholders — Involve business units, risk, IT, and compliance teams to validate service criticality.

4. Prioritise and document CBS — Produce an approved inventory with recovery objectives and dependencies.

5. Review and validate periodically — Ensure CBS lists remain relevant as business models, channels, and technologies evolve.

Critical Business Services of UOB Malaysia

In the context of UOB Malaysia, Critical Business Services represent the bank's outward-facing commitments to its customers and the financial system.

Identifying these services is a foundational step in operational resilience, as it shifts the focus from internal recovery capabilities to customer outcomes and tolerable levels of disruption.

With CBS clearly defined, UOB Malaysia can proceed to map end-to-end dependencies across people, processes, technology, facilities, and third parties.

This enables the organisation to set meaningful impact tolerances, test resilience under severe but plausible scenarios, and strengthen its ability to continue delivering essential banking services during disruption.

Ultimately, a well-defined CBS inventory ensures that operational resilience efforts remain risk-based, regulator-ready, and customer-centred.

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