The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today issued a new booklet in the FFIEC Information Technology Examination Handbook series, titled “Architecture, Infrastructure, and Operations.”

The booklet provides expanded guidance to help financial institution examiners assess the risk profile and adequacy of an entity’s information technology architecture, infrastructure, and operations. 

The new booklet replaces the “Operations” booklet issued in July 2004 and it provides examiners with fundamental examination expectations regarding architecture and infrastructure planning, governance and risk management, and operations of regulated entities. The booklet discusses the interconnectedness among an entity’s assets, processes, and third-party service providers along with the principles, processes, potential threats, and examination procedures to help examiners assess whether a financial entity’s management adequately addresses risks and complies with applicable laws and regulations. 

Updates to the booklet reflect the changing technological environment and increasing need for security and resilience, including architectural design, infrastructure implementation, and operation of information technology systems. The updated booklet also highlights the importance of providing current information to examiners reviewing an entity’s information management practices pertaining to safety and soundness, consumer protection, and provision of secure and resilient business services to customers.
 
The complete FFIEC Information Technology Examination Handbook is available at http://ithandbook.ffiec.gov/.

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The FFIEC was established in March 1979 to prescribe uniform principles, standards, and report forms and to promote uniformity in the supervision of financial institutions.  It also conducts schools for examiners employed by the five federal member agencies represented on the FFIEC and makes those schools available to employees of state agencies that supervise financial institutions.  The Council consists of the following six voting members:  a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;

the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the Comptroller of the Currency; the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration; and the Chairman of the State Liaison Committee.

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