RMA Paper Addresses Risks of Third Parties Working from Home, Returning to Offices During COVID-19

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new paper by The Risk Management Association (RMA) addresses the continuing risks posed by third parties of financial institutions as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves. "SARS-COV-2 Recommendations for Third Parties Working from Home and Returning to Facilities" will help institutions of all sizes mitigate the risks introduced by employees of third parties in these unprecedented times.   

The paper offers detailed steps that allow financial institutions to uncover and address possible concerns related to third parties under four scenarios:

• employees working from home.
• transitioning from work-from-home to return-to-facilities.
• employees return to facilities.
• employees revert to work-from-home.

The RMA paper is an addendum to RMA's "SARS-COV-2 Principles of Workforce Return to Facilities," which addresses the questions, scenarios, and challenges confronting financial institutions as they transition work-from-home employees back to offices and branches. 

"Just as financial institutions have taken great care in transitioning their own employees to work-from-home and in planning their returns to the office, they must also be mindful of how COVID-19 is amplifying the risks regarding employees of third parties," said RMA President and CEO Nancy Foster. "The considerations and recommendations offered in this RMA paper will help financial institutions manage the risk of a third party's employees at a time when it is higher than ever." 

To read RMA's "SARS-COV-2 Recommendations for Third Parties Working from Home and Returning to Facilities," click here.

About RMA 

Founded in 1914, The Risk Management Association is a not-for-profit, member-driven professional association whose sole purpose is to advance the use of sound risk management principles in the financial services industry. RMA promotes an enterprise approach to risk management that focuses on credit risk, market risk, and operational risk. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, RMA has 1,900 institutional members that include banks of all sizes as well as nonbank financial institutions. They are represented in the Association by 18,500 individuals located throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia/Pacific.

SOURCE The Risk Management Association