about how we use cookies by reviewing our privacy statement. other's strengths, and helping when we have an opportunity. and, in a speaking up culture, we let our colleagues know when we see a problem or after something goes wrong so that we can get started fixing it. risk management is a creative, social process. it is a way of thinking, doing, and interacting. to bring it to life, we need to work together across the organization, staying continuously curious about the changing risk landscape and possible futures. risk management during the pandemic crisis now, i'd like to share how our risk management practices and culture have helped us manage challenges throughout the pandemic crisis at the federal reserve bank of new york. in mid - march of 2020, the health crisis was especially severe in the new york city area, where our main office is located and where most of our employees live. to protect the health and safety of all employees and to continue our critical activities, we had to adapt to a situation none of us had ever seen before. that started with changing how we worked. to reduce the health risks to our employees, we only allowed staff who had to be onsite to remain in the office, while everyone else worked remotely. for example, some open market operations, cash services, and technology support activities could only be conducted on location. to protect onsite staff, we implemented a range of protective measures including masking, social distancing, quarantine requirements, and staggered work schedules. another priority was helping employees cope with added responsibilities like lack of childcare and elder care, so we provided as much flexibility as possible to staff to manage their time. on the technology side, we had an immediate need for teleconferencing bandwidth to support remote work. while not all technology worked perfectly right away, our technology providers quickly adjusted. with most staff working from home, a new risk we identified and addressed was the failure of home internet connectivity. without going into detail, we've mitigated this risk, and successfully worked remotely through subsequent severe weather events. our business continuity planning and testing helped us navigate the early days of the pandemic, but this event was far more extreme than anything we had practiced, and we learned many lessons. i highly recommend a recent paper by the consultative group on risk management that brings together insights from central bank experiences managing business continuity risks during the pandemic. 8 at the new york fed, as

. 13 for a “ multiple roles ” perspective of risk managers, see matthew hall, anette mikes, and yuval millo, “ how do risk managers become influential? a field study of toolmaking and expertise in two financial institutions, ” april 2012. also, see, ben w. heineman jr., the inside counsel revolution : resolving the partner - guardian tension, 2016, american bar association. 14 board of governors of the federal reserve system, division of supervision and regulation, “ sr 20 - 24 : interagency paper on sound practices to strengthen operational resilience, ” november 2020. also, see striving for operational resilience : the questions boards and senior management should ask, ” oliver wyman, 2019. 15 basel committee on banking supervision, “ revisions to the principles for the sound management of operational risk, ” march 2021. 16 nathan furr, andrew shipilov, didier rouillard, and antoine hemon - laurens, “ the 4 pillars of successful digital transformations, ” harvard business review, january 2022. 17 bank for international settlements, “ cyber - resilience : range of practices, ” december 2018. by continuing to use our site, you agree to our terms of use and privacy statement. you can learn more about how we use cookies by reviewing our privacy statement.