FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — "Financial services is essential to the operation of our country", said D. Scott Parsons, former deputy assistant secretary, department of Treasury because it is based on confidence, and without that, the center cannot hold. But apart from the importance of maintaining the financial markets and commerce, what financial institutions need is resilience, said Parsons.
"It's been a struggle for regulators to get into the heads of CEOs," and resilience protects the brand of companies and credit unions that you run. You need it so that you can respond to natural disasters and other threats, such as data breaches," Parsons said. "While I was in Treasury worked very hard to create the means to allow you to do just that."
"Yesterday in New York, where I live, heavy rains brought the city to a halt. Nothing worked. But now that I am newly unfettered since leaving government service, I can speak frankly. No government entity, not Homeland Security, the FBI, Treasury can say they are responsible for recovery after any single hazard. It takes partnerships to overcome the obstacles; various agencies, federal, state and local must work together."
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Parsons was frank in telling NASCUS attendees "Government is a vast behemoth. It's full of silos and agencies tend to get mission creep and so you have a lot of redundancy. That can lead to a situation where departments and agencies may not work effectively and share the information necessary. We saw that in Katrina."
He advised state agencies to demand more information, coordinate with others and learn to compromise on things they cannot change. "My question to you is, are you wholly dependent on government for your resiliency? If so, you're going to be disappointed."
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