A Study on the Practical Ways of Implementing a Street-Wide BCP Exercise in the Banking Industry

Abstract

This paper aims to determine the most practical method for implementing a Street-Wide Exercise for the banking industry in Japan. There are similar BCP exercises occurring in Singapore, called Industry-Wide Exercises, conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This paper defines an Industry-Wide Exercise as a BCP exercise involving only banks, while a Street-Wide Exercise involves banks along with other critical interested parties, such as exchanges, the police, the fire department, lifeline vendors, and government offices. For the past 10 years, major international financial centers such as New York, London, and Singapore have conducted Street-Wide Exercises involving both banks and critical interested parties. However, the BCP Exercise for the banking industry in Japan still only involves banks, a policy that should be revisited. This study conducts an analysis from various angles, including ISO 22398 (the ISO’s approved framework for BCP exercises) to identify potential solutions. Additionally, it proposes a new type of BCP exercise, which is a blend of Industry-Wide and Street-Wide Exercises as an intermediary solution, called a Focused-Street-Wide Exercise, involving a limited number of banks and interested parties.