Hit by crisis, Asia wakes up to risk management

TOKYO: A year ago, when Shinsei Bank Chairman Masamoto Yashiro was asked why Japanese banks had been able to avoid the worst of the financial crisis, he dismissed it as something akin to a lucky break.

Since the crisis, Shinsei and other companies across Asia have been trying to take luck out of the equation. They are investing in computer systems and strengthening internal controls to improve their ability to identify and mitigate risk.

Asian companies were not at the heart of what triggered the crisis, but they were blindsided by the fallout, from banks booking heavy losses on asset-backed securities to manufacturers having difficulty raising funds after credit markets seized up.