# Introduction he etymology of the word 'Risk' can be traced to the Latin word 'Rescum' or French word 'Risco' meaning 'That Cuts' or 'Causes Loss'. Risk is associated with uncertainty and reflected by way of change in the basic structure. These Risks are interdependent and events affecting one area of Risk can have ramifications and penetrations for a range of other categories of Risks. Risk Management may broadly be defined as an Art or Science that facilitates identification and management of the possible deficiencies in any activity that may result in its underperformance. Risk is the possibility of the actual outcome being different from the expected outcome. Banking has been undergoing metamorphic changes, depending upon the economic drivers, geophysical requirements, social compulsions and practices etc. Banking, like any industry, is embedded with lots of Risks. The Risk Managers are constantly evolving sound banking practices that could take care of the effective Risk Management, so that both the 'giver' and 'taker' are reasonably protected from the possible adversities and thus safeguard sound economic activity. The most effective way of doing banking business would be to take reasonable Risks and derive the benefit out of such Risks. Thus the core spirit of Risk Management would be 'to be aware of the Risks' and 'find the ways and means to mitigate such Risks', rather than develop the 'tendency of Risk-Averse'. # a) Statement of the Problem The very nature of the Banking business is so sensitive because more than 85% of their liability is deposits from depositors (Saunders, Cornett, 2005). Banks use deposits to generate credit for their borrowers. This is in fact a revenue generating activity for most of the Banks. The aforesaid credit creation process ensures the Banks to have a good growth in its business. To generate revenue or earnings, to expad or grow and to survive the tough competition and the dynamic needs of the business, the Bank has to generate potential clients as well as retain the existing clients. # b) Objectives of the Study The main objective of the study is to examine to what extent does the risk management has its implications on business and growth on the Banks operating in India. More specifically, the study aimed at achieving the following objectives: 1. To understand the impact of Ho2 : There is no significant difference in the perception of the operating personnel with regard to the impact of Basel Frameworks in the area of Quality of Business. # d) Significance of the Study The study enables the Bankers to understand the importance of effective Business Development and also improving Quality of Business in Banks in the area of Risk Management. This study further attempts to assist the Risk Managers and the Regulators in ensuring a vibrant, sound and stress-free Banking environment which further helps in enhancing the country's economy. # e) Scope of the Study The study is limited to only the Indian Banks and Foreign Banks operating in India and covers a period of ten (10) years from 2002-2013. A structured questionnaire is designed and administered to the Risk Managers in the select sample Banks. # II. # Literature Review a) Risk Management Risk is all pervasive and is prevalent in every activity, be it a manufacturing or trading or service related. Human beings always attempt to manage the Risks faced by them in their day-to-day activities of life. Keeping inflammable material away from fire, saving for possible future needs, creation of a legal protection etc. are some of attempts at managing the Risks. While there is no formal documentation of Risk Management in the primitive form of economic activity like 'barter' system, it would be reasonable to assume that both sides of the exchange-trade were prudently applying the basics of Risk Management viz. no loss or low loss. The extent of loss, whatever it may be, should have been the dictate of the 'need'. Broadly, this dictate of the 'need' may be classified as the primitive form of Risk-Return Trade-off. As rightly said, anyone who is not comfortable in drilling in the middle of seas is probably does not belong to the oil exploration business. Similarly, anyone who is not prepared to take Risks is not in the banking business. Managing Risk is nothing but managing the change before the Risk manages. While new avenues for the Banks have opened up, they have brought with them new Risks as well, which the Banks will have to manage and attempt to mitigate. Every Industry strives to arrest these Risks with a view to minimize its losses and make optimum revenue. Banking Industry, primarily dealing with financial services can be no exception and thus, encounters with many related Risks. It is imperative that Banks have to identify and measure various Risks faced by them and initiate suitable remedial measures to mitigate them. Banking has been undergoing metamorphic changes, in accordance with the economic drivers, geophysical requirements, social compulsions etc. Rapid growth of industrialization supplemented by increase in agricultural production has dramatically changed the scope of Banking and expanded its horizons. Technological advancements in telecommunication and transportation have reduced the geo-physical barriers and the Banks have stretched themselves overseas. These expanded horizons have further increased the Risk profile of the Banks. With the advent of Computers and Information Technology, there is a paradigm shift in the banking practices giving rise to more complex banking products and services, thus exposing the Banks to various new types of Risks. Risk Management in Banks is universally the same across all the domains. The significant difference in Risks and the Risk Management practices arises mainly on account of the socio-economic fabric, the business models and the policies of the sovereign concerned. The Regulators and the Risk Managers across the Globe have been defining and re-defining the Risks associated with the banking and have been attempting to find the ways and means to address such Risks, if not mitigate them completely, so that both the 'giver' and 'taker' are reasonably protected from the possible adversities and thus, ensure a sound Banking System in particular and a stable Economic System in general. Basel II is not mandatory either on the member Banks or otherwise. However, it is quite gratifying to observe that Developing Economies like India and South Africa preferred to migrate to Base II as per the given time-lines, whereas a Developed Economy like USA deferrred its migration. Over a period of time, the Banks across the Globe, in their own interest, have voluntarily preferred to adopt Basel II, albeit late to suit their local conditions. # Pillar I Minimum Capital Requirements Maintenance of Risk-adequate computation of Capital requirements, which explicitly includes the Operational Risk, in addition to the Credit Risk and the Market Risk. # Pillar II Supervisory Review Establishment of robust Risk Management practices, which includes compilation of Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP) Policy and their review by the Supervisors. # Pillar III Market Discipline Increased transparency through expanded disclosers in the larger interests of all the Stakeholders. a. Pillar I Under Pillar I, Basel II envisaged a 3-tier migration to the Risk Management, viz. i) Basic Approaches ii) Middle Approaches and iii) Advanced Approaches. Each level of these approaches contained a set of guidelines to capture Capital Charge for Credit, Market and Operational Risks. The Risks can fundamentally be divided into two types, i.e. Financial and Non-Financial Risks. Financial Risks involve all those aspects which deal mainly with financial aspects of the Bank, and can be broadly stratified as Credit Risk and Market Risk. Both Credit and Market Risk may further be subdivided, as per the intensity and nuances of the Risk Management. Non-Financial Risks include all the Risks faced by the Banks in its normal functioning; like Operational Risk, Strategic Risk, Political Risk and Legal Risk etc. A snapshot of the possible Risks the Banking Industry may be summarized as under The above list is only indicative, but not exhaustive. Financial Risks in the Credit and Market Risks are inter-twined and complimentary. Any adverse affect on either of them may lead to adverse effect on the other. Non-financial Risks like Operational Risk and Strategic Risk etc. are all pervasive and can fuel the illeffects of both the Credit Risk and Market Risk. The 333-page Magnum Opus of Basel II Framework is a magnificent effort to document various methodologies to calculate the Capital Charge on various exposures taken by the Banks. Basel The ICAAP Policy has to be realistic and robust enough to stand the scrutiny of the Regulators. The Regulators in their wisdom may prescribe additional Capital Charge for the Idiosyncratic Risk of the Bank concerned and the Systematic Risk the Banking Industry per-se. A pragmatic ICAAP Policy is intended to lead to the concept of Economic Capital and reduce the Capital Arbitrage by the Regulators. However, in view of the conflicting interests of the players in the in the system, evolution of Economic Capital appears to be a distant dream. The Banks are also encouraged to conduct Risk Controller and Self Assessment (RCSA) exercises across the cross-section of its employees (who are one of the stakeholders). RCSA exercises are intended to equip the employees mainly to address the issues relating to its Systems and Procedures, Risk Monitoring and Corporate Governance. This proved to be nonstarter and the Banks are yet to take them seriously. # c. Pillar III Basel Committee observed that the information given by the Banks in the Balance Sheets is barely intelligible for the common Customers and other Stakeholders. Under Pillar III, Banks are expected to maintain transparency and make additional disclosures at a desired level of integrity, over and above that have already been made in the Balance Sheets (which are made in line with the local Accounting Standards), so as to facilitate the Stakeholders take an informed decision specific guidelines by Basel III on this aspect, the Regulators concerned are expected to formulate appropriate polices, as per the dictates of the banking practices prevalent in the Country concerned. However, 'User Test' is indicated as one of the barometers to decide the level of these additional disclosures. # iii. BASEL -III There are many and varied reasons that led to the financial crises leading to failure or closure of many of the Banks in US and European Union. Evidently, no two Economists agree on a single analysis on such events. However, the main reasons can be traced to lack of Corporate Governance and inadequate Capital base. To address the deficiencies revealed by the late 2000s financial crisis, Basel Committee has come out with Basel With the advancements in computers and information technology, there has been a paradigm shift in the banking practices giving rise to more complex banking products and services, thus exposing the Banks to various new types of Risks. With banking business growing leaps and bounds, may be, it is very much essential for the Banks now to look for ways and means to protect their Business and Growth. # a) From Risk Management Perspective Risk is a significant aspect of a banking business activity. It is the Banks' willingness to take in business Risks as quantified by the appropriate indicators and is a basic operational prerequisite to send the relative 'Risk Limits'. For estimating the Bank's Risk-bearing capacity, it is necessary to determine the about the Bank concerned. In the absence of the extent to which the Bank can afford to take certain Risks at all. It is also necessary for the Banks to analyze the opportunities arising from Risk taking (Risk-Return). Though Basel II is voluntary in nature, the Banks on their own, in their own interest may have to migrate to Basel Frameworks, so as to equip themselves to protect from unexpected losses and also to be internationally competitive. A Thought : With ever-growing and multidimensional banking business models, invariably, there appears to be an opaque area that always hides the Risk even from the sharp and trained vision of the Risk managers. Robust Risk Management practices will help Banks to identify, measure and mitigate the unexpected losses (apart from the expected losses, which the Banks in any case take care of, as a normal business practice) and eventually will lead to lesser losses and help Business and Growth prospects of the Banks. # e) From Business Development Perspective As Risk taking or transformation of Risks constitutes a major characteristic of the banking business, it is especially important for the Banks to address the Risk Management issues. The everincreasing complexity of banking business calls for effective functioning systems that can reduce or control the Risk profile of the Banks. Banks have to have in place Risk Management Practices consistent with their business profile without losing focus on the vision, mission, business plans and ethics of the Bank. Banks have to view Basel Frameworks as an opportunity to improve functioning of the Banks and thereby Business and Growth prospects as well. A Thought : Banks have to develop appropriate Risk Management practices that can identify and measure the Risks and mitigate them as far as possible, without compromising the business objectives and growth plans. In fact, the Banks ought to put in place robust Risk Management practices, not only to insulate them from the possible losses but also to be internationally competitive, which would facilitate Business and Growth prospects of the Banks. and pricing thereof. However, the basic guiding premise should be that providing Capital is no substitute for Risk Management and mitigation thereof. and also facilitate capturing of 5 to 7 years historical data, enabling near-accurate calculation of Risk ratios like PD (Probability of Default), LGD (Loss Given Default), EAD (Exposure at Default) etc. in the Advanced Approaches. Building up of historical data and analysis thereof for the Business Intelligence purposes is quite essential for Banks move towards a healthy banking domain. It is needless to emphasize that Banks do require adequate Business Intelligence support to be competitive and help their Business and Growth prospects. Almost all the Banks have moved to wider platform like Core Banking Solutions. As Core Banking Solutions per-se cannot support robust MIS and historical-data-perspective, the Banks will have to move towards setting up Data Warehouse etc., which may require huge investments. A Thought : Banks may have to make these investments in Technology and Infrastructure, not as Basel driven compulsions, but as Business-driven investments. A wider platform like Core Banking Solutions supported by Data Warehouse becomes essential for the ever-growing and complex banking operations. As setting up of individual Data Warehouse by each of the Bank may become uneconomical. The Banks may have to think of sharing the Data Warehouse facilities, with suitable protection for data secrecy and integrity. In the larger interest of the Banks, a Regulatory intervention in this regard may be desirable. # g) From Employee Perspective Basel Frameworks seek to introduce fairly new concepts, which in all fairness are difficult to digest for the traditional operating personnel of the Banks. Banks may have to invest substantial time and money in updating the skill levels and motivation quotient of the operating personnel. It has been an established fact that ill-informed and ill-motivated operating personnel contribute negatively and hamper Business and Growth prospects of the Banks. Yet, this is often the most neglected area in the Banking Industry. A Thought : Training system being run by the Banks is often confined to improving only the knowledge levels of the operating personnel (leaving aside the controversy over its utilization in the ground level situation). It is high time; the training system migrates from 'Training the Employees' to 'Educating the Employees', meaning 'Imparting Knowledge with Values'. # h) From Stakeholders Perspective Banking Business should not be rooted exclusively in Supervisory consideration or business consideration, rather it should be in the best interest of all Stakeholders of the Banks i.e., shareholders, customers, employees etc., who are inherently interested in the continued and sound existence of the Banks. Though the individual interests of these groups are not completely congruent, by and large, all the groups would be interested in ensuring that the Banks do not take on Risk positions that might endanger their continued and sound existence. The Stakeholders, if well informed, would fuel the Business and Growth prospects of the Banks. A Thought : Pillar III Disclosures of Basel II Framework appear to be the right attempt in this direction, which would need improvement over a period of time to meet the 'User Test' norms. To sustain the spirit behind these guidelines, the Banks have to be honest and transparent in making true and fair additional Disclosures. # i) From Stakeholders Perspective Banking Business should not be rooted exclusively in Supervisory consideration or business consideration, rather it should be in the best interest of all Stakeholders of the Banks i.e., shareholders, customers, employees etc., who are inherently interested in the continued and sound existence of the Banks. Though the individual interests of these groups are not completely congruent, by and large, all the groups would be interested in ensuring that the Banks do not take on Risk positions that might endanger their continued and sound existence. The Stakeholders, if A Thought : Pillar III Disclosures of Basel II Framework appear to be the right attempt in this direction, which would need improvement over a period of time to meet the 'User Test' norms. To sustain the spirit behind these guidelines, the Banks have to be honest and transparent in making true and fair additional Disclosures. # j) From Stakeholders Perspective Banking Business should not be rooted exclusively in Supervisory consideration or business consideration, rather it should be in the best interest of all Stakeholders of the Banks i.e., shareholders, customers, employees etc., who are inherently interested in the continued and sound existence of the Banks. Though the individual interests of these groups are not completely congruent, by and large, all the groups would be interested in ensuring that the Banks do not take on Risk positions that might endanger their continued and sound existence. The Stakeholders, if well informed, would fuel the Business and Growth prospects of the Banks. A Thought : Pillar III Disclosures of Basel II Framework appear to be the right attempt in this direction, which would need improvement over a period of time to meet the 'User Test' norms. To sustain the f) From Technology & MIS Perspective Basel Frameworks envisage that Banks develop robust MIS to meet with the stringent standards of Basel k) From Group Perspective Basel Frameworks envisage that financial group entities of a Bank (except Insurance entities, which have a different Risk profile that of the financial entities and probably, are outside the scope of Basel Framework) also function on sound lines as that of the Parent Bank. Any adverse movement in the group entities would adversely affect the Parent and at times, can be fatal enough to wipe out the Parent itself. On the same analogy, many a Regulator across the Globe have mandated that Banks will have to migrate to Basel Frameworks, both at Whole Bank (Solo) level and at the Consolidated (Group) level as well. This would ensure the Business and Growth prospects of the Banks and their Group entities as well. A Thought : The Group concept of Basel Frameworks may lead to an anomalous situation, where Group-controlled NBFCs may have to adhere to Basel Frameworks, whereas independent NBFCs need not comply with the Framework. This is a serious issue requiring immediate remedial action by the Regulators concerned. # l) From Economic Perspective The Banking System is one of the important barometers of the Economic stability of the System. Hence, any Economic System to achieve a robust growth and sustain the same needs to encourage and ensure a sound Banking System, the Regulators across the Globe have been defining and re-defining the regulatory interventions, so as to ensure a sound Banking System in particular and a stable Economic System in general. A Thought : Bankers, Economists, Regulators and Sovereigns all over the world have been continuously striving to achieve a right balance between Banking Business Growth and Risk-Return Trade Off. It is easier said than done. # m) From Economic Perspective The Banking System is one of the important barometers of the Economic stability of the System. Hence, any Economic System to achieve a robust growth and sustain the same needs to encourage and ensure a sound Banking System, the Regulators across the Globe have been defining and re-defining the regulatory interventions, so as to ensure a sound Banking System in particular and a stable Economic System in general. A Thought : Bankers, Economists, Regulators and Sovereigns all over the world have been continuously striving to achieve a right balance between Banking Business Growth and Risk-Return Trade Off. It is easier said than done. n) From Regulatory Perspective Mere designing of Risk Assessment and Control Methods is not sufficient to secure the Banks' Riskbearing capacity. Implementation of appropriate processes and reviews is essential. For improving Risk Management on an ongoing basis, development of relevant process should not be regarded as a one-time project, but a continuous development process. Hence, proper documentation of its Risk Governance Mechanisms, Systems & Procedures, their periodical updation and implementation of the same becomes the key. The Regulators would be too eager to study these aspects and assess the Risk profile of the Banks, as these would serve as Regulatory Tools. Regulators would be interested in the sound Business and Growth prospects of the Banks and hence would be monitoring the movements of the Banking industry and give the necessary impetus and guidance and initiate course correction, of considered necessary. A Thought : Banking Industry is moderately regulated with the interventions of the Regulators and appears to be stable. Yet, the Risk Management practices of the Banks are not considered robust enough and hence, reengineering of the same may be required. IV. # Methodology The research work employed is an experimental design. Primary data has been collected through a ) and i) Initiate suitable measures to mitigate the Risks. ?and, these would evidently go a long way in developing the Business and Growth prospects of the Banks and also make them globally competitive. 2![Figure 2 :](image-2.png "Figure 2 :") c) Research Hypothesesperception of the operating personnel with regard to theimpact of Basel Frameworks in the area of BusinessDevelopment. Process (ICAAP)Source : Compiled from International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: A RevisedFramework Comprehensive Version, Bank for International Settlements (BIS) June, 2006Source : Compiled from International Convergence of Capital Measurement andRevised Framework Comprehensive Version, Bank for International Settlements(BIS) June, 2006b. Pillar IIUnder Pillar II, Banks are encouraged toformulate the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment III.Risk Management -Growth andBusiness Implications b) From Capital Adequacy Perspective Basel Frameworks seek to ensure that the available Risk coverage Capital is sufficient at all times to cover the Risks taken. Introduction of Basel Frameworks has reduced Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR or simply known as Capital Adequacy Ratio) of the Banks by around 150 bps to 200 bps, mainly on account of the Capital charge for Operational Risk, necessitating Banks to augment their Capital. The Capital charge for Operational Risk (as 15% of average of previous 3-years Gross Income under Basic Indicator Approach) tends to block around 10% to 12% of Banks' Capital Funds. However, in reality, this additional Capital charge may not be adequate to meet the losses that may arise on account of Operational Risk. In any case, the lesser Risk Weights envisaged for Basel II defined 'Retail Loans' is expected to offset this additional Capital charge to some extent. A Thought : This should encourage Banks to aim and migrate to Advanced Approaches, which would help them in improving their capacity to identify, measure and mitigate the possible Risk losses and thereby, may reduce the Capital charge. A healthy Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio is one of the indicators of Banks' soundness, which should trigger the Business and Growth prospects of the Banks. c) From Capital Management Perspective Basel Frameworks also bring forth Bank Capital planning and d) From Corporate Governance Perspective Basel Frameworks seek a comprehensive Corporate Governance process including the management body and senior management oversight, monitoring, reporting © 2013 Global Journals Inc. (US) survey method using a structured questionnaire which was administered to the Operating Personnel working in the Risk Management capacity in general and Credit Risk in particular. Interview method was also used for the study. Secondary data sources like annual reports, annual accounts, bank's prospectus, Central Bank's (RBI's) guidelines and BIS (Bank for International Settlements) guidelines have been used as references. The population size is around 900 (Nine Hundred) and the sample size is 360 (Three Hundred and Sixty). The sampling unit was mainly the Operating Personnel in the capacity of Credit Risk Managers, Senior Credit Risk Managers and General Managers and above. The sampling technique used was a purposive sampling or judgmental sampling. Three Public Sector Banks, three Private Sector Banks and three Foreign Banks have been chosen. A 5-point Likert Scale has been used to carry out the research work, ranging from: 1 being 'Not Important', 2 being 'Of Little Importance', 3 being 'Moderately Important', 4 being 'Important' and 5 being 'Very Important'. spirit behind these guidelines, the Banks have to be honest and transparent in making true and fair additional Disclosures. V. ## Data Analysis and Statistical Techniques Data Analysis: Tables: Descriptives: Mean * International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision July 1988 * Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Amendment to the Capital Accord to incorporate Market Risks January, 1996 * Emerging problems with the Basel Capital Accord: Regulatory Capital Arbitrage and Related Issues DavidJones Journal of Banking & Finance 24 Jan 2000 * The International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards, A Revised Framework, Bank for International Settlements February 2003. June 2004 5 Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Sound Practices for the Management and Supervision of Operational Risk * Financial Market Center ConfordPaper Andrew June 2005 * International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: A Revised Framework Comprehensive Version, Bank for International Settlements June, 2006 * Demystifying Basel-II Journal of Islamic Banking and Finance December, 2006 Akhtar Shamshad * The Banks battle back, a behind-the-scenes brawl over new Capital and Liquidity Rules Economist May 2010 * International Framework for Liquidity Risk Measurement, Standards and Monitoring, Bank for International Settlements IiiBasel December 2010 * SSaunders TCornett Financial Institution Management McGraw Hill Pub 2005. 2005 * Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Implementation of Basel II, Practical Considerations July 2004 * The Global Implementation of Basel-II: Prospects and Outstanding Problems, International Developments in Financial Regulations Discussion 12. Basel III: Counterparty Credit Risk -Frequently Asked Questions, Bank for International Settlements November 2012 * will not have much impact on Bank's business development whereas the Indian Private Sector and the Foreign Banks think that the impact on Business Development is going to be higher