Call for Papers – Special Issue: Banking Resilience in an Age of Uncertainty and Systemic Shocks

Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions

Guest-editor, Klaus Böcker, Senior Manager, Risk Advisory, PwC Germany

Submission deadline: 31st March 2026

The banking sector in 2026 operates amid an exceptional level of uncertainty. Geopolitical fragmentation, climate disruption, cyber vulnerability, and the rapid pace of artificial intelligence interact with rising political polarization and weakening institutional trust.  In such an environment, local shocks can quickly escalate into systemic crises, revealing the limits of traditional, siloed risk frameworks.  This special issue invites contributions from academics, practitioners, and regulators exploring how banks can remain resilient in a world of overlapping and interdependent risks.  We encourage the submission of practice articles, case studies and applied research papers that deepen the understanding of uncertainty management, contagion mechanisms, and governance approaches that are suited to complex, fast-evolving environments.

Submissions covering any of the following topics for this special issue will be considered, but additional suggestions for papers are also welcomed.

 I.Geopolitical and Institutional Fragility

  • Quantifying the financial impact of conflicts, sanctions, and supply-chain fragmentation
  • Political polarization and institutional fragility as sources of macro-financial instability
  • The interplay between climate change, migration, and socio-political tensions – and how these feedback loops shape financial and regulatory risk
  • Contagion pathways from geopolitical or political shocks to financial markets and liquidity
  • The management of global crises in a period of political fragmentation

II. Climate and Environmental Risk

  • Stress-testing and scenario design for physical and transition risks under deep uncertainty
  • Integration of climate-adjusted risk models and implications for capital adequacy
  • Governance of sustainability and greenwashing risks

III. Cyber and Digital Operational Resilience

  • Hybrid cyber threats, third-party dependencies, and critical infrastructure resilience
  • Implementation challenges of DORA
  • Artificial intelligence as both a resilience enabler and a new source of systemic risk
  • Managing the interplay of geopolitical risks and cyber-attacks
  • How could cyber-attacks interact with market and liquidity shocks to create greater challenges

IV. Integrated Risk and Resilience Management

  • Enterprise-wide risk intelligence that combines geopolitical, climate, and digital dimensions
  • Approaches to uncertainty beyond probabilistic modelling
  • Governance and culture for “all-weather” resilience in banking

Submission guidelines:

The following types of articles will be considered for publication:

  • Practice articles: Thought pieces, briefings, case studies and other contributions written by practitioners. Articles should be 2,000 to 5,000 words in length.
  • Research papers: Contributions which explore new models, theories and research in risk management. The principal management implications of the submission should be included. Articles should be up to 6,000 words in length.

All submissions will be peer-reviewed to ensure that they are of direct, practical relevance to those working in the field.

Our current copy deadline for this special issue is 31st March 2026.

Manuscript submissions and enquiries should be submitted to the Publisher, Julie Kerry at julie@hspublications.co.uk  Further, more specific guidance for authors on format and style can be found at: Instructions for authors – Henry Stewart Publications

Questions about this issue and proposals for papers should be directed to the Guest-Editor: Klaus Böcker at klaus.boecker@pwc.com as well as the Publisher, Julie Kerry.

About Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions

The journal is a quarterly professional journal aimed directly at those responsible for managing risk in financial institutions. The journal publishes a mixture of technical papers as well as qualitative papers on five inter-related areas of risk: strategic, financial, operational, regulatory and systemic risk. The journal is aimed at senior management within the banking sector, companies providing a service to the financial sector, and governments, regulators and academics throughout the world with an interest in financial risk management. The journal publishes briefings, discussions, applied research, case studies, expert comment and analysis on the key issues. Further information on the journal is available here.