Capco’s Eric Holmquist joins Customers Bank as CRO

Eric Holmquist, a former managing principal at financial services consultancy Capco, has joined Customers Bank as chief risk officer.

As chief risk officer (CRO), Holmquist will design and execute the bank’s enterprise risk management (ERM) programs and practices to ensure effective risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and monitoring. He will also chair the bank’s ERM committee, managing risk across company strategy, operations, and change management while providing regular reports to the board.

Holmquist has more than 35 years of experience in financial services, including deep expertise in bank strategy, operations, and risk management. He has a long track record of developing enterprise risk management, executive reporting, and information security programs. He has also trained CROs and bank boards on risk management practices.

Holmquist joins Customers from Capco, where he was managing principal of the enterprise risk management practice for the last three years. Before that, he was managing director of the risk solutions group at FIS (which sold off a 60% stake in Capco in 2017).

Erik Holmquist, CRO at Customers Bank

Between 2011 and 2015 he was managing director of enterprise risk management at Accume Partners, a New York-based risk assurance and advisory firm. Prior to that, he spent six years at Advanta Bank Corp, where he was director of operational risk.

Earlier in his career, Holmquist was a principal in financial services advisory firm The Secura Group, where he helped establish the DC-headquartered firm’s LA office. He was also previously consulting group manager at Hutchinson and Bloodgood, a Southern California-based accounting and consulting firm.

Holmquist has a bachelor’s degree in leadership studies from Villanova University. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and has written more than 50 articles and contributed to three books on risk management.

“Customers Bank is continuing to grow and we are excited to welcome Eric to our team. Eric will serve as an integral part of the bank’s risk management practice to help us provide the best service and customer experience to our clients, while also increasing value for our investors,” stated Richard Ehst, president and CEO of Customers Bank.

Banks are having to recalibrate their lending risk calculations as the Covid pandemic alters the economic landscape. In a more uncertain and shifting climate, does the bank still make that loan to a fledgling retailer, or approve that mortgage for an oil rig worker?

The enterprise risk management function, however, goes beyond credit or market risk to assess and mitigate other factors – including operational risk (cyber threats, internal and external fraud), and strategy and technology risk (being elbowed out by traditional competitors or fintechs).

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