Expect more customer-tailored products from Malaysian banks, as they improve their risk management processes.

The Business Times quoted Accenture Risk Management practice lead Asean Christopher Loh as saying that the next step for financial institutions was to measure risk before pricing products tailor-made for customers.

This is already the practice in most developed markets as it will eventually make its way to Malaysia, reckons the consulting firm.

The report noted that local financial institutions have invested and focused a lot on risk management over the last decade since the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis.

"That is why the local banks were not so badly affected in the midst of the 2008 global crisis," Loh said adding that there are other areas that are in need of improvement.

According to Accenture's 2011 Global Risk Management Research report, the top changes that banks now face or will face over the next two years include data quality and management, better integration of risk and finance, process re-engineering and automation and risk software solutions and development.

"Banks across the globe are making large investments in their risk organisation to address change and achieve overall risk integration. "Banking companies also anticipate increased regulations in the next two years," said Loh. (Source: The Business Times)