ISFB Insight
Nicolas Dervaux: “Risk is not a constraint; it is an indicator of mastery.”
July 7, 2026
As an instructor for the ISFB Certificate in Governance and Risk Management for Board Members, Nicolas Dervaux points out that the board’s role is not limited to making decisions. It must ask the right questions, set the risk appetite, and hold management accountable. In his view, clear governance links strategy, business lines, regulation, and the institution’s long-term sustainability.
Nicolas Dervaux, you are a lecturer for the ISFB Certificate in Governance and Risk Management for Board Members. What messages would you like to convey to the participants in the upcoming session, which begins in September, regarding the role of a board of directors in addressing current banking risks?
First and foremost, they made the right choice in investing in this training program! Being a bank director means making decisions, but above all, it means asking the right questions, identifying opportunities, defining risk appetite, and ensuring compliance with the articles of incorporation and regulations. The diversity and sophistication of banking professions, coupled with the growing complexity of regulations in a constantly evolving environment, make this role both exciting and demanding.
Your career as a risk manager places you at the intersection of strategy, risk, regulation, and business lines. How does this experience shape your perspective on governance?
Governance is the backbone of the bank, and the board is responsible for ensuring it. It refers to all the decisions, rules, and practices designed to ensure the bank operates optimally. In my view, governance operates as a continuous cycle:
- From top to bottom: The board sets its risk appetite and authorizes senior management to implement it,
- From bottom to top: Executive management reports on business performance and the materiality of risks to the board.
Clear and accountable governance is a necessary condition for the institution's success.
You held several positions in the banking sector before becoming Head of Risk. How does this diverse range of experiences shape your perspective on decisions made at the highest level?
The role I have held for the past five years, combined with my previous experience as a sales manager in Switzerland and abroad, has given me an appreciation for the wide range and cross-functional nature of the issues that need to be addressed within a banking institution. For example, liquidity can impact lending, just as bad loans can affect profitability and capital, and employee training and the implementation of best practices help reduce operational and cyber risks. The role of a board member is to strike a delicate balance between business opportunities, regulatory constraints, the optimization of the institution’s resources, and its long-term sustainability in order to effectively support the overall strategy. It is through a holistic understanding of risks and how they are interrelated that a board member can make informed decisions. The ISFB Certificate in Governance and Risk Management for Directors is designed with this in mind.
Risk is often perceived as a constraint. How can it become a common language between the board, senior management, and the business units?
The perception of risk as a constraint—a barrier to business growth—belongs, in my view, to a bygone era. I am not the sole person responsible for risk; we are all responsible for risk, from the board to senior management, from the account manager to the back-office staff. The board ensures that senior management correctly identifies risks, but also that it has the capacity to manage those risks. In this regard, the board ensures that an internal control system is in place. Risk is not a constraint; on the contrary, it is an indicator of how well the bank’s operations are managed. It helps align decisions and steer the bank’s strategy.
What personal skills do you consider to be crucial in governance today: the ability to mediate, political acumen, the courage to make decisions, an understanding of business operations, or something else?
According to the regulations, a director must demonstrate impeccable conduct, a good reputation, independence of mind, and the ability to exercise high-level strategic oversight. A board member must have the skills to set strategic objectives and make decisions in the bank’s best interest.
Personally, I would say that a board member must have a long-term strategic vision, a solid grasp of the legal and regulatory framework—in short, a detailed understanding of banking risks and how to manage them—in order to be able to hold the chief risk officer accountable.
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