CRO Circle Dinner Romandie | Beyond Financial Risk: Embedding Geopolitics into Banking Strategy and Decision-Making

Summary 

Geopolitical risk is no longer a temporary external factor—it has become a structural and pervasive feature of the global operating environment for financial institutions. Fragmentation of markets, evolving sanctions regimes, shifting alliances, and regional instability are reshaping not only capital flows and client portfolios, but also governance frameworks, operating models, compliance obligations, and strategic decision-making.

For private banks, investment banks, and universal banks alike, geopolitical developments influence every dimension of the business: financial performance, regulatory exposure, operational resilience, client trust, and long-term strategic positioning. More than solely a financial risk, geopolitical risk is a cross-cutting risk that affects the entire organisational landscape.

Geopolitical events increasingly translate into institutional risk through:

• Market Dislocation: Volatility across FX, rates, commodities, and equities, impacting valuations, funding conditions, and investor confidence;
• Client Risk Exposure: Wealth erosion, portfolio concentration, cross-border restrictions, and changing client behaviour driven by uncertainty;
• Regulatory and Sanctions Complexity: Expanding sanctions regimes, diverging regulatory expectations, increased compliance burdens, and heightened reputational risk;
• Liquidity & Funding Risk: Disruptions in global capital markets, payment systems, and cross-border liquidity channels;
• Operational Constraints: Custody, settlement, transaction flows, and supply chain dependencies under geopolitical stress;
• Strategic and Governance Challenges: Increased pressure on boards and executive leadership to anticipate geopolitical developments and embed them into decision-making frameworks.

Sustained geopolitical uncertainty requires a shift from reactive risk management to proactive strategic positioning. Financial institutions that embed geopolitical awareness into governance, risk oversight, regulatory compliance, and investment decision-making will be best placed to preserve capital, protect client relationships, ensure resilience, and capture opportunities in an increasingly complex global environment.

Keynote

Our keynote speakers will address the measures institutions are taking to manage geopolitical risk as an enterprise-wide challenge, with particular focus on both risk management and investment management dimensions.

• Integration of real-time geopolitical analysis into enterprise risk management, credit assessment, regulatory compliance, and governance frameworks;
• Strengthening oversight of sanctions exposure and ensuring agile adaptation to rapidly evolving regulatory and cross-border compliance requirements;
• Active management of geographic, sector, and counterparty concentrations across client portfolios and proprietary positions;
• Incorporation of severe geopolitical scenarios into stress testing, capital adequacy frameworks, liquidity planning, and operational resilience assessments;
• Systematic integration of geopolitical considerations into investment management processes, including asset allocation, portfolio construction, due diligence, and manager selection;
• Proactive client guidance through tailored hedging strategies, diversification approaches, and portfolio resilience solutions in times of geopolitical uncertainty.

Geopolitical risk has become a core driver of institutional resilience, materially affecting portfolios, operations, regulatory exposure, and strategic decision-making across all banking models. Institutions that integrate geopolitical insight into both risk management and investment management will strengthen resilience, improve compliance readiness, and deepen long-term client trust.

Presenters

• Dr. Helen Belopolsky, Global Head of Geopolitical Research Deutsche Bank
  Dr. Helen Belopolsky recently joined Deutsche Bank as Global Head of Geopolitical Research. She brings to the role over two decades of frontline experience advising governments, financial institutions, corporates, and a variety of other organizations on how geopolitical developments shape markets. Before that, she was Global Head of Geopolitical Risk at HSBC, after several strategic roles in Compliance and Risk in Asia and the Middle East. Prior to HSBC, she spent several years working in public safety and security functions within the Government of Canada. Most recently, she was responsible for providing strategic analysis of Russia and Central Asia to the Canadian Prime Minister and the National Security Advisor at the Privy Council Office of Canada. Helen has also deployed to Afghanistan and worked for the Canadian Embassy in Moscow. Helen holds a doctorate in international relations from the University of Oxford, focusing on Russian foreign policy and is a published author.
• Xavier Barde, Group Chief Risk Officer, Pictet Group
  Xavier Barde is Group Chief Risk Officer for the Pictet Group since April 2018. Based in Geneva, he has held various positions in the Group Finance Department, the most recent of which was Group Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Xavier Barde spent part of his career with Arthur Andersen before joining the Group in 2000. Xavier Barde holds a degree in Economics and Banking from the University of St Gallen and is a Swiss CPA.

Agenda

18:30  Welcome cocktail
19:15  Take seat at dinner table
19:30  Welcome speech (5 min) by Jean-Pierre Colombara
19:40  Appetizers
20:00  Keynote speech (30-40 min)
20:40  Main Course and Dessert
21:30  End of event

Swiss Risk Association in Romandie

The Swiss Risk Association (SRA) is a non-profit organisation and open forum for risk management. Through events, discussions, and knowledge transfer, the SRA strengthens Switzerland’s position as a financial competence centre.

The Swiss Risk Association was created 10 years ago and was mainly covering the Swiss German part of Switzerland. In order to expand our organization within the French-speaking part of Switzerland, we created a new Chapter “Romandie”, which was successfully launched last year. As part of the development in the Romandie, the Chapter has been replaced by two distinct Chapters. The first one covering Private Banking and Wealth Management activities and the second one the Commodity Trading activities.

We are excited to bring an unforgettable evening and exclusive networking opportunities at the CRO Circle Dinner.

The goals of both new Chapters issued from the Romandie Chapter are to develop the exchange of know-how and networking opportunities via the organisation of Chapter events covering various risk topics in the areas of private banking, asset management and commodities trading.

About CRO circle

The CRO Circle institutionalises the need to debate thoughts and ideas with your C- and Board-level colleagues informally. It helps you identify risk topics that you may not have thought of yet. It provides highly exclusive networking opportunities and fosters new relationships and connections. The CRO Circle targets the most senior risk managers—the leaders who are responsible for identifying and managing risk comprehensively. A CRO Circle seat is available as a part of our Corporate Packages.