Summary
When global politics redraw the map of risks, who in finance is truly ahead of the curve?
The recent surge in geopolitical tensions is reshaping the global business environment, creating heightened uncertainty for companies across industries. In this context, firms have had to evaluate, more clearly define, and in some cases adjust their risk appetite for geopolitical risks. Companies are affected not only directly, through their operations and investments abroad, but also indirectly, via their dependence on complex international supply chains that can be disrupted overnight.
These dynamics have far-reaching consequences for the financial sector, as banks and insurers must reassess their exposure, strategies, and long-term resilience in an increasingly fragmented world.
Topics covered will include:
- What risks and opportunities do recent geopolitical tensions offer to banks and insurers?
- How do geopolitical risks enter into a financial institution’s risk appetite statement?
- How can geopolitical risk be quantified?
Presenters
- Hans Reynders, Chief Risk Officer Switzerland at BNP Paribas
Hans Reynders has been the Chief Risk Officer for BNP Paribas Switzerland since January 2025. He looks back at 30 years in the financial industry. After a decade as CIB Banker, he moved into the credit and risk world as Risk Officer in London and Geneva and returned to CIB in 2017 as a member of the EMEA management Team for Corporate Banking at BNP Paribas Paris. During this period he was the lead on various Transformation and Change management projects related to Credit and Risk. He was one of the Senior CIB authorised deciders for the EMEA region which provided an excellent view on how to manage Disruption and Geopoliticl Risks and how Regulators monitored these evolutions. He holds a Master’s degree in Applied Economics (Finance) from KU Leuven. - Eugenie Molyneux, Chapter Chair of Sustainability at Swiss Risk Association | CRO & CFO, formerly at Zurich and PWC
Eugenie Molyneux is Chapter Chair of Sustainability at the Swiss Risk Association and brings over 25 years of international experience as a CRO and CFO. She spent two decades at Zurich Insurance, first in senior finance roles spanning business lines, functions, and geographies, and later as Chief Risk Officer of the $27BN Commercial Insurance business, where she focused on strategic, ESG, cyber, geopolitical, and macroeconomic risks.Her earlier career began with PwC in the UK and Australia, working across financial services, oil, and mining, before joining the Global Capital Markets group to lead M&A, IPO, accounting conversion, and regulatory change projects. Eugenie is recognized for her ability to bring clarity to complexity, connecting the dots across finance, risk, and strategy to support growth and impact.
Introduced and moderated by Pieter Klaassen, Board Member Chair of the Swiss Risk Association and Business Associate at Zanders.
Agenda
17:45 Arrival & Name Tag Collection
18:00 Welcome and Introduction (Pieter Klaassen)
18:15 Project presentation (Hans Reynders & Eugenie Molyneux)
19:00 Panel with all the speakers and Q&A
19:25 Conclusion (Pieter Klaassen)
19:30 Networking Drinks
20:30 End
Chapter Event
This Chapter discusses all topics around Risk Appetite Frameworks. This includes risk identification, risk appetite statements, risk capacity, setting limit and tolerances, risk culture, etc.
The aim is have an open dialog about challenges, concerns, opportunities and to share best practices.
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Reflecting geopolitical risks in Risk Appetite
21. October 2025
18:00 - 20:30