Technology risk functions must evolve from governance gatekeepers into strategic enablers of AI, digital assets and quantum computing. A senior technology risk executive argues that firms should strengthen existing risk frameworks, embrace emerging techno
Financial institutions cannot afford
to treat artificial intelligence, digital assets and quantum computing as
isolated technology initiatives.
Instead, they should strengthen the
risk management foundations they already have, embed emerging technologies into
existing governance frameworks and ensure technology risk functions help shape
innovation rather than simply react to it.
Speaking at CeFPro’s 2026 Risk
Americas conference, the Head of Technology Risk and Control at a major global
asset servicing and custody institution argued that firms must balance speed
with control while making risk management an enabler of innovation rather than
an obstacle.
The executive described the current
environment as one of the most exciting periods she has experienced during more
than two decades in technology risk.
Artificial intelligence, digital
assets and quantum computing are no longer emerging technologies sitting on the
horizon.
They are rapidly becoming operational
realities that will reshape customer behavior, business models and risk
management practices across the financial sector.
Artificial intelligence, she
explained, is likely to transform not only how banks operate internally but
also how customers interact with financial institutions.
As consumers increasingly adopt
intelligent software agents to manage their personal finances, banks will need
to prepare for a future in which automated systems communicate directly with
one another.
"There is a forecast that
between three to five years, the agent-to-agent payments transaction will be
more than human-to-bank payment transactions," she said.
At the same time, she added, AI is
dramatically accelerating the speed at which cyber vulnerabilities can be
identified and exploited.
"It has gone from months,
sometimes years. Now to minutes, potentially a day, 24 hours. That's a paradigm
shift AI is making to our industry."
The executive also highlighted
digital assets as another transformational force. Drawing on her previous
experience helping build digital asset custody capabilities, she argued that
stablecoins and tokenization have already entered the financial mainstream.
"Stablecoin payment volume has
exceeded Visa and Amex in 2024," she said, adding that projected
transaction volumes demonstrate how rapidly the technology is evolving.
Quantum computing, meanwhile,
presents both opportunity and risk. Organizations must prepare their encryption
strategies for a post-quantum world while also exploring how quantum
capabilities could improve portfolio management and broader business performance.
Rather than viewing these
technologies independently, however, she encouraged firms to think in terms of
convergence.
"As risk professionals, we think
about that ecosystem and then the convergence of these things and how that
impacts the risk portfolio, how does it impact how we understand risk, measure
risk, and manage risk."
Understanding those interactions, she
suggested, will become increasingly important as multiple technologies mature
simultaneously.
One of the greatest challenges facing
technology risk teams is the pace of change itself. Software development cycles
are accelerating dramatically, driven in part by AI-assisted coding.
The executive cited the explosive
growth in GitHub code commits as evidence that development speed is increasing
far faster than many traditional governance processes can accommodate.
