The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) launched a new initiative designed to help determine how well banks can withstand a major disruption of any type.
This initiative, called a tech sprint, is intended to be the first of several focused on fostering stronger resiliency in banking. The FDIC’s tech lab, FDITECH, is challenging tech sprint participants to identify solutions for institutions to test their operational resilience to any disruption.
“Our most important mission is to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system so consumers have trust in their banks and can be assured the FDIC stands behind those banks,” FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams said.
From natural disasters to malicious actors, the financial sector faces a growing number of threats to its information technology systems, operations, people, and facilities. The ability of financial institutions to respond to and recover from these disruptions promptly is essential.
“As we promote and encourage innovation, as we build the financial system of the future, we must make certain that it is open, inclusive, and resilient. Through this tech sprint, we seek consistent data and measures that will foster greater resiliency and protect the future of the U.S. financial sector,” FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji said.
Recognizing the evolving threat environment confronting banks, the FDIC seeks solutions that improve sector-wide resilience by helping answer the question:
FDITECH will open registration for this tech sprint in the coming weeks. Organizations interested in participating will have two weeks to submit applications. After a brief review of submissions, FDITECH will invite a select number of teams to develop proposed solutions to this challenge question. After that, FDITECH will host a “Demo Day,” inviting teams to make short presentations to a panel of expert judges who will evaluate their solutions.