Der Wackelzahn-Moment für Banken: Die KPMG RiskTech-Konferenz 2026

„We are currently experiencing the wobbly tooth moment for the risk management function“ – with this unusual sentence, we got the guests of the KPMG RiskTech Conference 2027 in the mood for the day's programme. Many were probably wondering: What do a child's wobbly tooth and risk management in banks have to do with each other? We think: quite a lot.

A wobbly tooth is a major change, a crisis project in fact - as anyone with children knows. The wobbly tooth raises many questions and brings with it a feeling of uncertainty and unpredictability - and these must also be mastered in risk management today in the face of geopolitical, technological and regulatory developments. Our conclusion: The new tooth is coming, whether we like it or not – in any case, we will master the situation better if we welcome it.

Such wobbly tooth moments are now becoming more and more common in risk management, confirmed Kristina Trink, Member of the Management Board and Chief Risk Officer at Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB) – for example, due to the enormous uncertainties currently characterising the world. She emphasised that the role of risk management is currently being redefined by the turnaround in interest rates, technological progress and artificial intelligence (AI). Technology is an important means to an end for greater efficiency, increased customer benefit and a sustainable, scalable business model.

Lieutenant General (ret.) Alfons Mais was able to categorise the geopolitical uncertainties in the subsequent discussion with Markus Quick. The discussion between the two showed that strategic and political expertise is more relevant than ever for risk managers today, because as critical infrastructure, banks and other financial service providers need to work on their resilience, and they need contingency and crisis plans for various geopolitical scenarios.

How do banks deal with this environment? In our opinion, it is now more important than ever to bring technological expertise into risk management. Under the motto „Risk meets Intelligence“, our conference offered risk management managers and technology providers a platform for the second time to exchange views on current trends and developments in risk management.

In our view, there are six top trends that will change risk management this year and are driven by technology:

1. Real-time risk management: Markets are moving faster today, and liquidity sometimes shifts in minutes - so intraday measurement is becoming increasingly important.

2. Digital assets: Digital assets are becoming the norm and require new risk controls, which must also be possible in real time. Both must be integrated into the bank's processes.

3. Expansion of geopolitical scenarios: Regulation, supply chains, geopolitics, energy and commodity markets – all of these important areas are fragmenting. Risk scenarios need to map geopolitical, regulatory and operational drivers simultaneously – much more granular and dynamic than in the past.

4. Cost efficiency: Risk organisations continue to face cost pressures – and many are struggling with inefficient, fragmented processes and legacy systems. New technological applications can offer a solution here.

5. Artificial intelligence: Over the past two years, many organisations have focused on exploring AI applications, particularly in the area of generative AI. Now it is about responsibly integrating the technology into central risk processes - with clear governance structures and a high level of explainability.

6. Future risk architecture: The risk architecture of the future is the connecting element. It creates a modern, AI‑enabled risk platform that interlinks data, models and processes end‑to‑end.

From the perspective of Pedro Machado (Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank), what is the right way to deal with AI and what lessons can be learnt from the first use cases with AI in risk management? These and other questions moved the guests on the day's panels and the audience.

Answers were provided by best practice examples, among others, but also by the RiskTech companies present (a list can be found here). They presented their solutions in the exhibition area – leading software providers for risk management solutions, data analysis and data quality management, bank management and more.

In the end, it is important to jointly establish the connection between risk management and technology. The result is a forward-looking, data-driven and systemically coherent risk management system that is ready for wobbly moments and for shaping the future.