Banking and Financial Institutions: Operating Model for Engineers

Banks are federations of specialized teams tied together by shared data, controls, and regulation.

Functional Layers

• Front office: sales, trading, origination.
• Middle office: risk, controls, limit monitoring.
• Back office: settlement, reconciliation, confirmations.
• Treasury and finance: funding, liquidity, ledger, reporting.

Engineering Implications

• The same trade needs multiple validated views.
• Golden-source reference data is non-negotiable.
• Entitlements and audit trails must be first-class.
• Workflow tooling is as important as analytics.

Regulatory/Control Themes

• Data lineage and model governance.
• Segregation of duties.
• Exception management and break resolution.

References

• Basel Committee Publications
• OCC: Risk Management Guidance
• Federal Reserve Supervision and Regulation

Best Books to Read

• The Banker’s Handbook — Wouter de Ploey et al.
• International Banking — Robert Grosse, Luiz R. Mesquita
• Risk Management in Banking — Joël Bessis