Annual report 2008
Binck Bank
- Report of the Management Board
- Risk management under Basel II and Pillar III disclosure
- In-control statement
- Personnel and organisation
- Corporate social responsibility
In-control statement
The risks and control measures that are relevant to BinckBank are discussed in the section entitled 'Risk management under Basel II and Pillar III disclosure' on page 32 of this annual report. The system of control measures discussed there illustrates how BinckBank achieves control. In this statement, the Management Board describes the extent to which it considers itself to be in control. StatementWe are aware of our responsibility for internal control and have introduced risk management and control systems within BinckBank to ensure that, having due regard for BinckBank's risk profile, progress towards our strategic, operational and financial targets is monitored, our reporting is reliable and we comply with the applicable legislation and regulations.
We again closely monitored our company's internal risk management and control systems in 2008, which gave us a good insight into the significant risks and risks that are specific to BinckBank. We receive several internal control reports at regular intervals, such as reports on lending in relation to the value of the collateral (credit risk), transaction and position reconciliation (operational risk), client complaints and comments (operational risk) and availability of IT systems (operational risk). We also receive numerous regular reports on the progress of our business, such as financial reports (including profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, solvency and liquidity positions and related analyses), reports on the development of our client base and compliance and internal control checks that have been conducted. We also receive annual statements by the management team and the heads of the principal staff departments on the functioning of the risk management and control systems within their areas of responsibility. The Internal Audit Department submits periodic reports presenting the findings of the internal audits it has performed on the basis of the audit plan adopted by the Audit Committee. One or more specific audits are also performed by external agencies each year on specific areas such as the IT environment. All these reports are discussed in the meetings of the Management Board and other internal bodies such as the Audit Committee and with the Supervisory Board. The purpose of these meetings is to monitor the correct functioning of the internal controls during the financial year, so that action can be taken where necessary.
However well our internal risk management and control system is designed, it can never give absolute assurance that we shall always be able to meet our objectives in terms of strategy, operations, reporting and compliance with all applicable legislation and regulations. The reality is that human error is always an element in decision-making and the cost always has to be balanced against the benefits when accepting risks and implementing controls. Even minor mistakes due to human error may have significant effects, employees may conspire to circumvent internal controls and responsible managers may ignore internal agreements.
Given these limitations, which are inherent in all internal risk management and control systems, and given the areas for improvement which have been identified, our assessment is that the internal risk management and control systems provide a reasonable degree of assurance that:
and, with regard to financial reporting risks:
Without in any way detracting from our opinion and statement, we wish to mention the following current projects relating to the integration of Alex and Binck and our striving for operational excellence:
The Management Board
Thierry Schaap Pieter Aartsen Nick Bortot Evert Kooistra
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