HKIB ECF-Operational Risk Core study plan

Map the full ECF-Operational Risk syllabus into a one-page topic tree covering risk governance, risk identification and assessment, controls, loss events, and reporting

Define operational risk using the Basel definition and distinguish it from credit, market, and strategic risk with three original examples each

Explain the three lines of defence model and assign a named responsibility to each line for a retail bank scenario

List the seven Basel event types and classify ten original loss scenarios into them

Describe the roles of the board, senior management, the CRO, and internal audit in an operational risk framework

Draft an operational risk appetite statement with at least three quantitative tolerance limits

Explain how the risk and control self-assessment (RCSA) process works from scoping to action tracking

Compare the three Basel approaches to operational risk capital: Basic Indicator, Standardised, and Advanced Measurement

Build a risk register for a hypothetical Hong Kong deposit-taking institution with at least 12 risks scored on likelihood and impact

Apply a 5x5 heat map and justify the placement of each register entry

Distinguish inherent risk, residual risk, and target risk with a worked example

Identify key risk indicators and set escalation thresholds for four of the register risks

Explain the purpose and structure of an operational risk loss-event database and the minimum data fields

Distinguish near misses, internal losses, and external losses and explain why near misses are captured

Describe root cause analysis techniques including the five whys and fishbone diagrams

Outline the regulatory expectations for incident reporting and escalation timelines in Hong Kong

Categorise key control types: preventive, detective, corrective, and directive, with two examples each

Explain control testing methods including design effectiveness and operating effectiveness testing

Describe how control failures feed back into RCSA and the risk register

Outline business continuity and outsourcing risk considerations relevant to operational risk

Explain the components of an operational risk capital calculation under the Standardised Approach including the business indicator

Describe how scenario analysis and external loss data supplement internal data

Interpret operational risk reporting packs for a board risk committee, including KRIs, losses, and emerging risks

Explain the treatment of conduct risk and its overlap with operational risk

Recall the key HKIB ECF operational risk learning outcomes and self-rate confidence against each

Work through calculation-style questions on capital approaches and check each answer against the method

Practise scenario-based questions on governance, RCSA, and loss events under timed conditions

Compile a personal error log of weak topics with the correct reasoning for each mistake

Re-test every item in the error log until each is answered correctly without notes

Deliver a full timed mock examination under exam conditions

Summarise the five highest-risk topics into a one-page revision sheet

Explain aloud the end-to-end operational risk cycle from identification to reporting in under five minutes