Get to know our experienced CRO
As the year draws to a close, we look confidently to the future and 2021. At QBANK, we are proud to have an experienced leadership team guiding us forward into the new year. In the second instalment in a series of articles profiling QBANK's leaders, we introduce you to our latest, Josie King, our Chief Risk and Governance Officer (CRO).
Josie leads the Risk, Governance and Compliance team here at QBANK. This means Josie and her Staff are responsible for the development and implementation of the risk, governance, and compliance frameworks. Her role also encompasses the position of Company Secretary.
Josie has over 20 years' experience as a solicitor, company secretary and risk and governance professional, and has worked in a variety of diverse industries including financial services, energy, aviation and property. Josie supports the business by providing timely and practical advice to enhance strategic decision-making and ensure regulatory obligations are met.
What are some key business functions your team carry out for QBANK Members?
The risk and compliance team work closely with the business to assist Members with account opening processes, management of deceased estates, the lending process, fraud issues and a host of other queries. Our approach is to try to solve the problem the Member is facing in a proactive and personal way.
Do you believe that events of the past year will impact on future compliance in financial services?
Before COVID-19 hit, our sector was heavily focused on the findings of the Banking Royal Commission and related change driven by our regulators ASIC and APRA. With the pandemic, these regulators have reprioritised, however these changes and compliance obligations never disappear. ASIC and APRA have recently reactivated many changes. Some examples include improved complaint handling obligations, enhanced product design and distribution obligations and the new phenomenon of Open Banking (allowing members to send key banking data between authorised institutions). All these changes and a lot more, will be introduced over the next 12-18 months.
What are the risk management and governance projects you and your team will be focusing on in 2021?
The team’s main focus in 2021 will be working with the business to implement the large pipeline of regulatory change which is due next year. These changes will include either system changes or reviewing our current processes and policies (which is a large job). We will continue to work on enhancing our risk management systems and reporting through partnering with “reg-tech” providers and developing new guidelines for our frontline Staff, to support vulnerable Members in our community.
How important is governance in a Member-owned organisation such as QBANK?
QBANK’s core value proposition is that we exist for the benefit of our Members, not to make profits for shareholders. Our Members are primarily those who protect and serve Queensland, and we take our obligations to support these “everyday heroes” very seriously. Ensuring high standards of governance is vital to the long-term sustainability of QBANK and enables us to make good decisions with appropriate oversight of day-to-day operations. We are lucky to have a strong board with a mix of Directors who are from the same organisations as our Members and have valuable insights around the issues that matter, as well as Directors who bring many years of retail banking experience to the table. Our board is incredibly focused on ensuring that our governance practices are robust and comprehensive.
