Five Questions With: William “Bill” K. Wray

William “Bill” K. Wray is senior vice president of risk management at The Washington Trust Co. and is responsible for credit risk functions, loan review and risk management.
He joined Washington Trust in June, but formerly took over the position this month, having previously worked as chief operating officer at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.
Prior to Blue Cross, Wray worked 15 years at Citizens Bank, holding various positions including vice chairman and chief information officer.
Wray talked with Providence Business News about the challenges of risk management within a community bank.

PBN: Congratulations on becoming senior vice president of risk management, how’s your transition been thus far and what are your top priorities in your new role?
WRAY:
Washington Trust is a wonderful company with incredibly helpful people, so they have made this a positive experience all around. I’d never really spent much time in Westerly, so I am getting to know the town – it’s a very cool community and a great place to work. I also have an office in Providence, where I know so many people already. So it all feels very much like home to me. For now my top priorities are to get to know the company and its customers, and to build on the great work of the risk management team to date.

PBN: How has your prior experience (as COO at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Vice Chairman and Chief Information Officer at Citizens Bank) helped prepare you for this new role as head of risk management?
WRAY:
What I’ve learned is that risk management at its best is seamlessly integrated into business processes, instead of applied after the fact like duct tape on a leaky pipe. Think of it this way: when you drive a car, you are managing risk continuously (although you may not realize it) by keeping your car in good shape, following the rules of the road, and using your brake and mirrors. In the same way, businesses need smoothly-integrated risk management to get to their destination safely and quickly.

PBN: How has risk management changed since the financial crisis in 2008?
WRAY:
Organizations have learned that risk management has to be strategic and forward-looking, not tactical and reactive. In my time in the military we talked about being careful not to plan to “fight the last war,” since conditions and threats change over time. The recent crisis showed how vulnerable companies can be to “last war” assumptions based on unquestioned conventional wisdom. I think we’ve all learned that innovative planning for the unexpected is an essential part of risk management, versus simply tightening internal controls over known vulnerabilities.

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PBN: What are the greatest challenges banks like Washington Trust face and does this differ from anywhere else in the region or country?
WRAY:
Washington Trust is the epitome of a “community bank.” We know our customers well, understand their needs, and are willing and able to be flexible in delivering the products and services that meet those needs. That approach has made us successful throughout the ups and downs of the local economy for more than 215 years. That said, it’s always easier to thrive in a thriving market, so we may face a bigger challenge in that regard than – say – a community bank in Houston, Texas may be facing. But in any event, we’re here to stay and are excited to be part of Rhode Island’s economic recovery and rejuvenation.
On a national basis, the administrative overhead required to address regulatory requirements is hard for smaller banks to absorb in their expense base. However well-intentioned those regulations may be, a lot of time and money goes into compliance. That’s a big burden for a small bank to bear, and it’s not getting easier.

PBN: Looking specifically at the increasingly stringent regulatory climate and cybersecurity concerns prevalent within the banking community, how will you leverage Washington Trust’s resources to make sure these costly facets of doing business don’t put too much strain on overall expenses?
WRAY:
The best way to manage risk in a cost-effective way is to simplify processes. The fewer the moving parts, the fewer chances for error (by the way, customers like things to be simple, too!). If we first simplify, then automate, processes, we can generally handle the evolving requirements you refer to, without adding undue incremental expense. This sounds simple in theory, but it takes a very serious effort to implement in practice (as they say, “in theory, theory and practice are the same – in practice, they are different.”) It’s one of the key areas I hope to address in my new role here at Washington Trust.

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