The Next Frontier: Addressing Climate Risk’s Biggest Analytical Challenges With AI

GARP Risk Podcast

In the financial services industry, risks related to climate change are now considered major, resulting in all firms assessing how to incorporate climate risk in financial decision making. As we find ourselves in the decisive decade, there is an urgency for financial services to not only better manage the financial and non-financial risks of climate change but also lead the way in sustainable finance. The scale and complexity of the problem demand new thinking and new technologies that will integrate well with existing risk management ecosystems.

In this episode, we’ll explore how AI and advanced analytics can help assess and address climate risk, while keeping the business lights on.

This episode concludes a four-part series examining Responsible AI. Listen to the previous episodes here:

Part One: Alternative Data in Risk Modeling

Part Two: Explainable/Interpretable AI

Part Three: Addressing Bias and Fairness in AI Systems

Learn More: From Crisis to Opportunity: Redefining Risk Management | SAS

Speakers

Mark Nasila, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, FirstRand Risk

Dr. Mark Nasila is the Chief Data and Analytics Officer of FirstRand Risk, a Singularity University Faculty. He is also a steering committee member of the National Institute for Theoretical Physics and Computational Sciences (NITheCS). As an experienced AI and data science expert, he ensures the techniques and methodologies he introduces into FNB are at the forefront of where banking is headed, both locally and internationally. He is the developer and the brain behind Manila, an AI system FNB has harnessed to reimagine its risk management and forensic due diligence processes. He holds a PhD in Mathematical Statistics from the Nelson Mandela University, and is also an alumni of the SingularityU South Africa Executive programme. He was named one of the Corinium Global Intelligence “2020 Global Top 100 Innovators in data and analytics.”

Terisa Roberts, Global Solution Lead, Risk Modeling and Decisioning, SAS

Terisa Roberts is a well-rounded risk management professional with 15 years of risk management experience working predominantly in the financial services sector. She is currently a Director and Global Solution lead for Risk Modeling and Decisioning at SAS.

She has extensive experience in risk modeling topics for retail and commercial portfolios including regulatory capital stress testing and IFRS9/CECL. She advises banks other financial services providers as well as regulators on innovations in Risk Modeling and Decisioning including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

She holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research and Informatics and lives in Sydney, Australia with her family.

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Over the years, GARP and SAS have worked together to bring risk practitioners unique insights on a variety of topics related to financial risk and have partnered on this episode of our podcast series.

About SAS

As a leader in analytics, SAS has more than 40 years of experience helping organizations solve their toughest problems. Our unrelenting commitment to innovation enables banks to modernize and sustain a competitive edge. SAS provides an integrated, enterprise-wide risk-management platform for managing risk in an organization, from strategic to reputational, operational, financial or compliance-related risk management. Learn more about how SAS is driving innovation and business value for risk and finance professionals at www.sas.com/risk.