SAS a 10-year leader in model risk governance, per Chartis

The analytics giant also achieved category leader recognition in model validation as risk management takes centerstage amidst pervasive economic volatility

As the financial services sector confronts the most perilous risk climate in more than a decade, Chartis Research again recognizes SAS for its innovation in helping banks, insurers and other financial services organizations confidently face the future. Among 18 top solutions evaluated by the renowned research firm, SAS was revealed as the foremost RiskTech Quadrant^® category leader in model risk governance.

SAS also clinched category leader recognition in the Chartis RiskTech Quadrant for model validation, based on the evaluation of 20 major vendors.

“In the wake of recent bank collapses, many financial firms are reevaluating their risk management systems’ model risk governance and validation capabilities,” said Sidhartha Dash, Chief Researcher at Chartis. “SAS has a long history of delivering sophisticated yet intuitive solutions to guide risk practitioners through turbid economic conditions. In complement to SAS’ No. 3 overall ranking in the Chartis RiskTech100^® 2023, its consistently high scores across its model validation and model risk governance quadrant evaluations demonstrate the breadth and depth of SAS’ risk and compliance solutions.”

A decade of risk management leadership

This marks SAS’ 10^th year as a model risk governance leader. Among the completeness of offering criteria, SAS scored top marks in governance, data management, model inventory and dashboarding. In the market potential analysis, SAS ranked high in market penetration, growth strategy, financials and business model.

“Financial market uncertainties and increasing regulatory scrutiny demand meticulous risk model governance and validation,” said Troy Haines, Senior Vice President and Head of Risk Research and Quantitative Solutions at SAS. “Now more than ever, end-to-end rigor to keep pace with regulatory shifts and withstand volatile market conditions is mission-critical. SAS has the domain expertise and technology to help firms of all sizes standardize and simplify their model life cycle management and scale model-driven decisioning, flexibly integrating their preferred languages, frameworks and tools.”

'Features and functionality across the entire model life cycle'

The newly published Vendor Analysis is based on Chartis’s evaluation of cloud-based SAS^® Model Risk Management for its quadrant report, Model Risk Management: Validation Services and Tools, and Governance Solutions, 2023, Market and Vendor Landscape, released in March.

Per Chartis, “The launch of Viya and SAS’ long-standing expertise in risk and finance, alongside its sophisticated credit risk modelling, supports its status as a category leader in both model risk governance and model validation.”

SAS Model Risk Management was heralded for its flexible integration with open source and risk systems, support of regional variations, and one-click model inventory attestation. It allows users to centralize model inventory, document and mine models for insights and tune them for the latest risk policies, helping prevent risk-related losses and improve oversight.

According to the Vendor Analysis, “SAS’ category leader position reflects a combination of features and functionality across the entire model life cycle. SAS Model Risk Management enables users to deploy models at scale, integrate multiple data sources and support an app API-centric architecture.”

SAS’ position as a category leader is further supported by its 2022 acquisition of Kamakura Corp. As stated in the Vendor Analysis, acquiring the specialized risk management firm has enabled SAS “to enhance and expand its modeling and analytics expertise. Kamakura’s market-leading credit models, risk solution and cross-validation functionality reinforce SAS’ position as a category leader and domain expert in this space.”

Spotlight on model risk management

To explore the latest in model risk management (MRM), including regulatory changes and trends in AI governance and building efficiencies in the modeling life cycle, tune in to the 2023 SAS Model Risk Management Connection, Mastering Model Risk in 2023. The on-demand event includes:

• An update from global regulators, the Federal Reserve Board, Prudential Regulation Authority and Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
• Sessions and roundtable discussions led by SAS experts and industry leaders from respected organizations like UBS and ABN AMRO Bank.

About Chartis Research

Chartis Research is the leading provider of research and analysis on the global market for risk technology. It is part of Infopro Digital, which owns market-leading brands such as Risk and WatersTechnology. Chartis' goal is to support enterprises as they drive business performance through improved risk management, corporate governance and compliance, and to help clients make informed technology and business decisions by providing in-depth analysis and actionable advice on virtually all aspects of risk technology.