MVB Financial Corp. Partners with PRMIA
to Develop an Effective Risk Appetite Statement Model
MVB Financial Corp. (MVB) (Nasdaq: MVBF), a $1.7 billion-dollar financial holding company headquartered in Fairmont, W.Va., continues to experience significant growth in the financial services arena driven by adaptive and forward-thinking leadership. MVB selected Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA), the premier association connecting risk professionals to best practices and supporting risk management in financial markets internationally, as a trusted partner in developing a process to formalize MVB’s risk appetite statement.
“MVB is not your typical community bank and is very entrepreneurial in its strategy. Related to this growth and entrepreneurial approach, MVB made the strategic decision to significantly enhance its Enterprise-wide Risk Management (ERM) program,” said Larry F. Mazza, CEO & President, MVB Financial.
Risk appetite is the amount of risk an organization is willing to take to achieve certain strategic objectives. The most effective financial institutions establish and monitor well-defined risk appetite statements as a cornerstone of effective risk management and corporate governance in communicating risk appetite across the organization. At MVB, risk levels are determined by its Board of Directors with the Senior Management Team based on their strategic direction and performance goals and are influenced by regulatory requirements. Mazza had the vision to articulate MVB’s risk appetite and to link it succinctly to MVB’s strategic initiatives to better manage the risks and related opportunities embedded in the MVB 3.0 Strategic Plan such as the targeted fintech and specialty deposits.
David A. Jones, MVB Chief Risk Officer, said deciding to work with PRMIA to help develop MVB’s risk appetite statement through a risk appetite statement model was an easy choice based on PRMIA’s worldwide risk support for financial institutions. “We believed this structured statistical approach, targeted to key risk components of MVB on a risk-return basis, provided a more objective foundation for establishing an effective Risk Appetite Statement for MVB,” Jones said.
Dr. Bob Mark, Ph.D. co-founder of PRMIA, worked directly with Jones, the MVB Board and Senior Management to assist in establishing MVB’s formal Risk Appetite Statement that incorporates the risk-return goals of MVB at both the business line and enterprise-wide levels. “MVB has strengthened its enterprise risk management program through establishing a formal, risk appetite statement and other risk processes that serve to make risks transparent and effectively manage their risk-return tradeoffs,” said Dr. Mark, who has worked with many banks, large and small. Dr. Mark noted that in comparison to other banks, “MVB now has a best practice foundation in place to set out the type of risks that they are willing to tolerate and which risks they should assume as part of their overall business strategy.”
This proprietary risk appetite statement technique developed in partnership with MVB’s Chief Risk Officer included a Risk Appetite Survey that required MVB Board and Senior Management members to respond to a series of risk scenarios that provided a measure of their individual and collective tolerances and preferences. Analysis and reporting results of all responses offered areas for monitoring and creating important risk management metrics. This helped MVB to determine its overall risk appetite levels, as well as specific risk tolerances and thresholds.
“The results of the overall innovative approach, in which MVB participated with Dr. Bob Mark, were very insightful in drawing overall conclusions of the Board and Senior Management in documenting and validating our overall collective risk appetite levels,” said James Cava, CPA, who chairs MVB’s Board Audit/ ERM Committee.
Using the experience from MVB, the PRMIA Risk Appetite Statement model is being refined so it can ultimately become an industry standard. “To find such a great partner to help streamline our risk appetite process was extremely helpful. Team MVB is developing a strong enterprise-wide risk management program and concentrated on establishing a meaningful objective risk appetite statement MVB’s Board could adopt,” said Adam Lindquist, PRMIA Director of Membership.
About PRMIA
The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) provides an open forum for the development and promotion of the risk profession. With chapters around the world, PRMIA is a non-profit, member-led association dedicated to defining and implementing the best practices of risk management in a broad range of industries through education, including the Professional Risk Manager (PRM™) Designation and several certificates; webinar, virtual, classroom and corporate training; events; networking; mentoring; and online resources. More information can be found at www.prmia.org.
About MVB Financial Corp.
MVB Financial Corp. (“MVB Financial” or “MVB”), the holding company of MVB Bank, is publicly traded on The Nasdaq Capital Market® under the ticker “MVBF.” MVB is a financial holding company headquartered in Fairmont, W.Va. Through its subsidiary, MVB Bank, Inc., and the bank’s subsidiaries, MVB Mortgage and the MVB Community Development Corporation, the company provides financial services to individuals and corporate clients in the Mid-Atlantic region. Nasdaq is a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services. For more information about MVB, please visit ir.mvbbanking.com.
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Forward-looking Statements
MVB Financial Corp. has made forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, in this Press Release. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about the future and subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries. When words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "may," or similar expressions occur in this Press Release, the Company is making forward-looking statements. Note that many factors could affect the future financial results of the Company and its subsidiaries, both individually and collectively, and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements contained in this Press Release. Those factors include, but are not limited to credit risk, changes in market interest rates, inability to achieve merger-related synergies, competition, economic downturn or recession, and government regulation and supervision. Additional factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements can be found in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, as well as its other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.