The application of VBM in large financial institutions requires the allocation of capital to
centres of accountability (for example, to business units), and then the measurement of their
performance relative to the capital allocations (Hall 2002; Marrison 2002; Jameson 2001;
Haubenstock & Morisano 2000). Given that capital allocations supposedly reflect risk taking,
business unit performance is becoming measured relative to the quantifiable risk they incur.
Pushing these performance measurements down to business units, products and even
transactions gave rise to ambitious claims as to what risk management can do in order to
enhance shareholder value. Risk pricing, risk transfer, portfolio risk management (as in Lam
1999) are the most frequently advocated possibilities in the literature.
The joint consideration of risk and profitability in a common performance measurement
framework9
is an application of VBM that is specific to the financial services sector. At the
same time, it represents an application of risk management that is equally specific – Risk and
Value Management may be favoured by certain banks while doomed to fail in others. 95)